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STATE OF ILLINOIS 

DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION 

DIVISION OF THE 

STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

FRANK W. DEWOLF. Chief 


BULLETIN No. 40 



J " ocr - 




OIL INVESTIGATIONS IN 1917 


Petroleum in Illinois in 1917 and 1918 
• By N. O. Barrett 

Brown County 
By Merle L. Nebel 

Goodhope and La Harpe Quadrangles 
By Merle L. Nebel 

l*arts of Pike and Adams Counties 
By Horace Noble Coryell 

Experiments in Water Control in the Flat Hock Pool, 

Crawford County 

By Fred Tou^h, Samuel H. Williston, and T. E. Savage 
In Cooperation with the U. S. Bureau of Mines 




PRINTED BY AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 


URBANA, ILLINOIS 
1 9 1 9 









































IMPORTANT 


The Illinois State Geological Survey desires to assist 
the oil industry to the fullest extent. To this end it is 
desirable that samples of drill cuttings be saved from 
each screw-depth, for examination by Survey men who 
are familiar with the strata of the region. Driller’s note¬ 
books and sample sacks will be furnished upon request. 

STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
Urbana, Illinois 



DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION 

DIVISION OF THE 

STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

FRANK W. DE WOLF. Chief 


BULLETIN No. 40 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS IN 


H)I7 AND D)18 


Petroleum iii Illinois in 1917 and 1918 
By N. (). Barrett 

Hrown County 
By Merle L. Neht‘1 

(loodliope and I^a Ilarpe Quadrangles 
By Merle B. Nebel 

Parts of Pike and Adams Counties 
By Horace Noble Coryell 

Pixperiments in W ater Ciontrol In the Pdat Hock Pool, 

Cn*awford Chninty 

By P'red Toufjb, Samuel II. ^VilliHtou, and 'P. M. Savage 
In Cb>opera(ion with the L^. S. Bureau of Mines 



PKINTIOI) liV 


Ai”i'nonrrv ok 'rii i<: 


sTA'ri«: OK ii.i.iNois 


UKPANA, ILLINOIS 
19 19 











ScHNEPP & Barnes, Printers 
Springfield, III. 

1919. 

21856—3M 



i 




STATE OF ILLINOIS 

DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION 
DIVISION OF THE 

STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

FRANK W. DeWOLF, Chief 


Committee of the Hoard of Natural Resources 

and Conservation 


Francis W. Shepardson, Chairman 

Director of Registration and Education 

Kendric C. Babcock 

Representing the President of the Uni¬ 
versity of Illinois 


Rollin D. Salisbury 
Geologist 






LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 


State Geological Survey^ 
Urbana, June 26, 1919. 

rrancis IV. Shcpardsoii, Chainnan, and Members of the Board of 
Natural Resources and Conservation, 

Gentlemen : 

I submit herewith reports on oil investigations in Illinois in 1917 
and ]91S, and recommend their publication as Bulletin 40. 

Although oil j)roduction in Illinois continues to be second only to 
that of coal, the fields are nevertheless on the decline. 

The situation may he met in two ways—discovery of new fields 
and improvement of methods of oil extraction. The papers on Pike, 
Brown and Adams counties and the Goodhope and La Harpe quadrangles 
are contributions along the first line, pointing out areas of favorable 
structure that merit testing for oil. The final paper describes methods 
of water control which will help to prolong the life of existing fields 
and at the same time, it is believed, reduce the cost of extraction. 

The discovery of new fields involves considerable uncertainty and 
risk of capital, as it is impossible to predict the presence of oil in ad¬ 
vance ; but improvement in methods of well procedure can be confidently 
expected to react to the benefit of operators, and therefore attention 
to such problems as are considered in the water-control report is strongly 
urged. 

Very respectfully, 

Frank W. DeWolf, Chief. 





CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Petroleum in Illinois in 1917 and 1918, by N. O. Barrett. 9 

Brown County, by Merle L. Nebel. 21 

Goodiiope and La Harpe Quadrangles, by Merle L. Nebel. 51 

Parts of Pike and Adams Counties, by Horace Noble Coryell. 69 

Experiments in Water Control in the Flat Rock Pool, Craw¬ 
ford County, by Fred H. Tough, Samuel H. WilHston, and T. 

E. Savage.. 97 









Fig. 1. Map showing areas covered by the reports 
























































































































































PETROLEUM IX ILLINOIS IX 1917 AND 19IS 

I^y N. O. Jiarrott 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

General review. 9 

Southeastern Illinois. 12 

Cumberland, Coles, Clark, Jasper, and Edgar counties. 12 

Crawford County. 14 

Lawrence County. I 4 

Wabash County. 14 

South-central Illinois. 15 

Macoupin County..-. 15 

Clinton County. 15 

Marion County. 15 

Western Illinois. 10 

Southern Illinois. 10 

Northern Illinois. I 7 

Miscellaneous drilling. 17 

Summary tables. Ig 

TABLES 

1. Illinois oil production, 1905-1918. 10 

2. Fluctuation in prices per barrel of Illinois petroleum, 1916, 1917, and 

1918 . 11 

3. Monthly record of wells drilled in Illinois in 1917. 18 

4. Monthly record of wells drilled in Illinois in 1918. 19 

5. County record of wells drilled in Illinois in 1917. 19 

6 . County record of wells drilled in Illinois in 1918. 20 

GENERAL REVIE\\' 

In s])ite of a 73 per cent reduction in 1918 in the ninnlier of wells 
drilled as compared with the numher for 1916, jiroduction declined 

only 24 per cent. Table 1 shows the annual production and value from 

1905 to 1918 inclusive and figure 18 presents the same data graphically 

for the State as a whole and for the various pools individually. 

As a result of the enormous increase in Kansas’ production in 1917 
as well as the actual decline that same year in Illinois production, the 
latter fell in rank from fourth to fifth among oil-producing states. In 


( 9 ) 
























10 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


1918, with further reduction of the Illinois total and a considerable in¬ 
crease in Louisiana’s production, the State fell still another notch lower 
so far as quantity was concerned. Evidence of the excellence of Illi¬ 
nois oil is found in the fact that in the scale of producing states, Illinois 
ranked fourth and tifth in value of production during 1917 and 1918 
respectively, at the same time that it ranked fifth and sixth in quantity 
of oil. 

The years 1917 and 1918 were characterized by record-breaking 
prices as a result of war conditions, the rise continuing without inter- 


Table 1 .—Illinois oil productioji, 1905-1918 


Year 

Barrels 

Value 

Previous. 

6,576 

$. 

1905. 

181,084 

116,561 

1906. 

4,379,050 

3,274,818 

1907. 

24,281,973 

16,432,947 

1908. 

33,686,238 

22,649,561 

1909. 

30,898,339 

19,788,864 

1910. 

33,143,262 

19,669,383 

1911. 

31,317,038 

19,734,339 

1912. 

28,601,308 

24,332,605 

1913. 

23,893,899 

30,971,910 

1914. 

21,919,749 

25,426,179 

1915. 

19,041,695 

18,655,850 

1916. 

17,714,235 

29,237,168 

1917. 

15,776,860 

31,358,069 

1918 (preliminary estimate). 

13,365,974 

31,230,000 


ruption from September 1, 1916 on through to the end of 1918. Changes 
of prices were infrequent during the latter half of 1917 and all of 1918, 
as a result of the stabilizing effect of the Fuel Administration upon both 
production and prices. Table 2 gives the prices per barrel of the two 
grades of Illinois petroleum for the years 1916, 1917, and 1918. 

In 1917 there were but 674 wells completed as compared with 1,469 
in 1916, and in 1918 there were only 410 completions. This great de¬ 
crease obtained in spite of the considerable increase in price—a factor 
that usually works towards increasing activity—largely because drillers 
and capital were attracted to the newly discovered and prolific south¬ 
western fields, and partly of course because the more promising unex¬ 
plored territory in Illinois is becoming continually smaller. With suc¬ 
cessful completion of the war, return to normal conditions is presumed ; 
indeed, the number of wild cat tests and inside wells contemplated for 
1919 is indicative of a general resumption of activity. 




























PETROLEUM IN ILLINOIS IN 1917 AND 1918 


11 


It is an interesting fact that for the month of February 1918, less 
completed work was done in the Illinois field than for- any previous 
month since Hoblitzel and Son started development work on Parker 

Table 2. —Fluctuation in prices per 'barrel of Illinois petroleum, 1916, 1917, 

and 1918 \ 


Date 

« 

1916 

1917 

1918 

Illinois 

Plymouth 

Illinois 

1 

Plymouth 

Illinois 

Plymouth 

January 

1 

$1.47 

$1.33 


.... 

.... 


January 

2 

. . • • 

.... 

$1.72 

$1.53 


.... 

January 

3 

1.57 

.... 


. . . • 

1 .... 


January 

4 

. . • • 

.... 


1.63 



January 

8 

• . • • 

.... 

1.82 

1.73 



January 

15 

• • • • 

.... 


1.83 



January 

21 

. . * . 

1.38 





January 

27 

1.62 

1.43 





January 

30 

. • . • 

.... 

1.87 


.... 


February 

9 

• • • • 

.... 



$2.22 


February 

16 

1.72 

.... 





March 

6 

• • • • 

1.53 





March 

13 

• • • • 

1.58 





March 

16 

1.82 

1.68 





March 

21 

• • • • 

.... 




$2.33 

March 

28 

* • • • 

• • • • 



2.32 


April 

16 

• • • • 

.... 

1.92 


• • • • 


July 

9 

• • • • 

.... 



2.42 


July 

28 

1.72 

1.58 





August 

1 

1.62 

1.48 





August 

3 

• • • • 

1.38 





August 

4 

1.52 

.... 





August 

14 

1.47 

1.18 





August 

16 

.... 

.... 

2.12 

2.03 



August 

17 

♦ • • • 

1.08 





August 

28 

... * 

1.03 





September 

27 

.... 

• • • « 


2.13 



November 

18 

1.52 

.... 





November 

30 

.... 

1.13 





December 

13 

1.57 

1.23 





December 

19 

1.62 

1.33 





December 

28 

. • . • 

1.43 





December 

29 

.... 

1.53 

.... 

.... 

.... 

.... 

Average 


$1.64 

$1.38 

$1,975 

$1,934 

■$2,334 

$2,287 





































































12 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


prairie between Casey and Westfield, in Clark County on the Young 
farm back in 1904. The severity of the weather, characteristic of the win¬ 
ter of 1918, was the immediate cause of this heavy drop in work, though 
the general decline in activity was also partly responsible. 

A feature of the industry in Illinois destined to receive an increasing 
amount of attention during 1919 is the development and adoption of 
new and better methods of oil extraction with the idea of prolonging 
the life of existing fields as well as reducing production costs. 1 he final 
paper of this bulletin describing the use of mud fluid in water-control 
work, is a contribution along these lines. 

In 1917, of the 674 wells completed, 172 or 25.6 per cent were dry, 
and 8 or 1.2 per cent were gas wells. The remaining 494 wells (73.2 per 
cent) reported as producers, yielded a new production of 10,140 bar¬ 
rels, which amounts to an average initial production of 20.6 barrels per 
well. 

In 1918 there were 410 wells drilled, of which 120 or 29.4 per cent 
were dry, and 14 or 3.4 per cent gas producers. The remaining 276 
wells (67.2 per cent) yielded a new production of 5,899 barrels, which 
amounts to an average initial production of 21.1 barrels. 

The number of wells abandoned is gradually increasing, 145 in 1916, 
202 in 1917, and 214 in 1918; but these totals are in every case less than 
the totals of producers brought in for the year in question, which 
means of course that the number of producing wells in Illinois is still 
increasing though the rate of increase is gradually lowering. 

SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS 

CUxMBERLAND, CoLES^ ClARK, JaSPER, AND EdGAR CoUNTIES 

In the shallow-sand field of southeastern Illinois 25.3 per cent or 
170 of the State’s total of 674 completions were drilled in 1917, and 25.1 
per cent or 82 of the total of 410 completions were drilled in 1918. 
Clark County continued to be by far the most active part of this field 
with 137 completions and a new production averaging 10.5 barrels in 
1917, and 71 completions averaging 7.9 barrels in 1918. A few large 
producers were brought in, the largest for 1917 being Ohio well No. 
106 on the N. and K. Young farm in Parker Township, credited with 
100 barrels initial production, and the largest for 1918 being Ohio well 
No. 1 on the C. B. Lee farm in the same township, yielding 60 barrels. 
The Stock Yards Oil Company made a deep test in Coles County on the 
Win. H. Berkley farm, which was probably in Trenton at a depth of 
2,400 feet when it was abandoned as dry. It is believed that the sand 
])enetrated in this well at a depth of 2,228 feet may be the equivalent of 


PETROLEUM IN ILLINOIS IN 1917 AND 1918 


13 


the pay sand in the Ohio Oil Company’s well No. 29 on the K. and E. 
Young farm a few miles to the southeast. 

In 1918, tests near Oakland in Coles County along the northwest 
extension of the La Salle anticline resulted in two good gas wells. The 
test put down by the Women’s Federal Oil Company in sec. 30 of East 
Oakland Township on the Sam Daugherty farm in April, 1918, produced 
500,000 cubic feet of gas at 302 feet and another on the Hawkins farm, 
completed in June, i)roduced 700,000 cubic feet at 315 feet. These wells 
together were responsible for the interest aroused and still exhibited 
over oil and gas possibilities in the vicinity of Oakland. Three other 
wells, all dry, were drilled, two in sec. 32 of East Oakland Township, 
and a third in southeastern Douglas County. 

The area lies a short distance east of the crest of the La Salle 
anticline, and therefore bears about the same relation to that structure 
as do the oil fields of Clark, Crawford, and Lawrence counties, for all 
along the anticline the dip is known to be consistently gentle toward the 
east. It is, however, not this major structure, but rather interruptions 
in the general inclination resulting in minor structures on the large fold, 
which have controlled oil accumulation in the southeastern fields. Ter¬ 
races and small or local anticlinal structures of the same sort doubtless 
exist in the Oakland area as well, but whereas drilling has been sufficient 
to determine the small but all-important structure in the oil fields, drill 
records about Oakland are so few and outcrops so rare that minor 
structures are still almost unknown. The ])roblem is further compli¬ 
cated by the fact that such logs as are available indicate considerable 
irregularity in stratigraphy across the anticline north of Clark County. 
Indeed, so different are the conditions in Clark County at Westfield from 
those south of Oakland, that correctness of the correlation of a shallow 
sand at Westfield with one at Oakland is very doubtful. There are in¬ 
dications that the depth of the heavy i\Iississi])pian limestone (the “Big 
Lime”) is much less in Clark County than it is near Oakland, and that 
there may be sands present near Oakland not found in Clark. The area 
should be drilled without regard to conditions in Clark County, and the 
records of the successive wells carefully kept in order to determine the 
actual sequence of strata. A thorough drilling of one of the persistent 
coal beds that underlies this region and is apparently of workable thick¬ 
ness, might probably be a venture worth the effort in itself, while at the 
same time it would reveal the structure in detail and indicate where 
deei)er drillings for oil should most properly be located. Without some 
such preliminary investigation, ])rospecting in Coles and Douglas coun¬ 
ties must remain essentially a “wildcat” proposition. 


14 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Crawford County 

The number of wells drilled fell from 276 in 1917 to 201 in 1918 
and the number of producers from 205 to 139, the average new pro¬ 
duction per well being 8.9 and 8.1 barrels respectively. A 165-barrel 
well in Robinson Township on the Ferriman farm in 1917 and two 100- 
barrel wells on the Curtis and Turner farm in Licking Township in 1918 
were the big producers of the two years. A number of 50 and 75-barrel 
wells were drilled during the same period but the majority gave yields 
considerably smaller. 

The activity evinced in Honey Creek Township in 1916 continued 
on into 1917 and 1918, although in some months Licking and Robinson 
townshij^s surpassed Honey Creek in number of completions. 

Lawrence County 

As in the other counties of the southeastern Illinois field, new wells 
were comparatively few, 133 wells in 1917 and but 71 in 1918, although 
246 wells was the total for 1916. The greatest activity was in Dennison 
Township from which two 200-barrel wells and a number of others al¬ 
most as large were reported during 1917 and 1918. The Kirkwood and 
Tracy sands, at a depth of 1,800 feet more or less, gave these large 
yields. 


Wabash County 

The best of a number of good producers brought in during 1917 
and 1918 in the Allendale pool were three 100-barrel wells on the 
Courter lease. The total number of completions fell from 28 in 1917 
to 18 in 1918 and the number of producers from 12 to 5, respectively. 
The average initial production per well for the county was 37.1 barrels 
in 1917 and 12.3 barrels in 1918. 

Excitement over the possibility of the discovery of a pool in Friends- 
ville Township began with the successful completion in October, 1917, 
of the Midland Oil and Gas Company’s well on the Toney farm with an 
initial production of 40 barrels. The second well on the Toney farm 
was completed, dry, at 1,650 feet in January and by the following May 
a third well on the Toney farm and five others on the Price, McNair, 
Couch, Anderson, and Matheny farms had been reported as dry. A 
test on the Putnam farm in September of 1918 resulted in another dry 
well to be added to the list. Further testing will probably be very slow 
in view of the fact that so large a number of holes were dry in the near 
vicinity of the producer. 


PETROLEUM IN ILLINOIS IN 1917 AND 1918 


15 


SOUTH-CENTRAL ILLINOIS ' 

Macoupin County 

Only three wells were drilled during the past two years in Macou¬ 
pin County, two of them in 1917 and the other in 1918. The 1918 hole 
and one of the 1917 wells were drilled on the flank of the Staunton dome 
but were unsuccessful. The Loveland test drilled in Brushy Mound 
Township, well up on the southern swell of the Spanish Needle Creek 
dome,^ was completed, dry, at 537 feet in Lebruary, 1917, and seems to 
indicate that oil will probably not be found at such depths in the 
structure, though the possibility of oil from deeper sands is not con¬ 
demned. 

The Staunton gas was substituted for artificial gas at Belleville, 
Edwardsville, Collinsville, Marysville, and Staunton late in 1916, and 
its use continued through 1917 and well into 1918, but the field began 
to show signs of early and rapid exhaustion in the latter part of 1918, 
necessitating return to artificial gas in some of these towns. 

Whether or not production can be revived sufficiently to take care 
of all or even a part of the area once supplied from this field is a doubt¬ 
ful question, the answer depending on whether the rapid decrease in 
pressure and flow experienced recently is due to actual exhaustion of the 
gas or to the ill effects of water caused by indifferent well procedure. 

Clinton County 

In 1917, of the 10 holes drilled, only one, that of the Ohio Oil Com¬ 
pany on the Niemeyer farm, was successful, 10 barrels being reported 
as the initial production at 941 feet. The dry holes were distributed as 
follows: three in Irishtown Township and one each in Clement, Breese, 
Meridian, Lake, and Carrigan townships. In 1918, of the 9 holes drilled, 
four were producers. Three of these were inside wells, two of them 
having an initial yield of 15 barrels, and one of 3 barrels. The Shaffer 
well in Irishtown Township, an outside location, gave 2 barrels as its 
initial yield. The Rogan test also in Irishtown Township resulted in a 
small production of gas at 1,149 feet. 

Marion County 

Marion County’s record for 1917 and 1918 is extremely poor, with 
one gas well and no oil as the outcome of eight tests in the two years. 

1 Lee, Wallace, Oil and Gas in the Gillespie and Mt. Olive quadrangles, Illinois: 
Ill. State Geol. Survey Bull. 31, p. 102, 1915. 



16 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Six tests were in the Centralia-Sandoval area, and two to the northeast 
in wildcat territory at Alma and at Kinmundy. The latter well was 
abandoned at 1,918 feet with no showing of oil or sand, although the 
depth seems sufficient to have reached the Stein and Benoist sands 
which produce oil at Sandoval. 

WESTERN ILLINOIS 

The statement made for 191G may be pertinently repeated for 1917 
and 1918, so far as new developments are concerned. The results of 
wildcat drilling in western Illinois served to emphasize further the 
“spotty” character of the Hoing oil sand. It is certain that favorable 
geological structure exists outside the Colmar-Plymouth fields but the 
prevailing absence of the sand is a discouraging feature. 

One lO-barrcl well on the MacAllister lease and a number of 5- 
barrel and smaller wells were completed in the Plymouth-Colmar area. 
Out of a total of 22 wells drilled there, but 5 were dry and the average 
initial production was approximately 3 barrels per well in 1917. Activ¬ 
ity in 1918 was notably decreased. No wells were reported for Han¬ 
cock County, and but eleven for McDonough. None was dry, however, 
and an average initial production of 5.7 barrels is credited to this group. 

One dry hole in Schuyler County was the only outside test of which 
the Survey has record in western Illinois during the two years. It was 
drilled to a depth of 465 feet and abandoned. 

The Pike County field received attention during 1917. This shallow- 
gas field, discovered in 1886 but not developed to any extent until 1905, 
has just been investigated by the Survey largely in response to demand 
of the residents of the area. The interest was roused by the decrease 
in pressure which has become gradually more apparent in the past few 
years, as well as by the possibility of finding oil in commercial quanti¬ 
ties, and a report on the area is included as a part of this bulletin. 

Of the four 1917 wells, three were drilled for oil. The Ohio Oil 
Company made two tests in New Salem Township, one dry at 616 feet 
and the other giving a show of oil at 619. Claud Shinn drilled a 634- 
foot well in Perry Township that showed oil at 650 feet. 

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 

Dry holes were drilled in southern Illinois as follows during 1917 
and 1918: NE. ^ SW. ^ sec. 35, Elvira Township, Johnson County, 
depth 2,000 feet; sec. 12, Raleigh Township, Saline Countv; sec 2ffi 
Eldorado Township, Saline County, depth 1,950 feet; and sec. 32, Omaha 
Township, Gallatin County. Drilling on the Campbell Hill anticline near 


PETROLEUM IN ILLINOIS IN 1917 AND 1918 


17 


Ava in Jackson County^ resulted in the discovery of additional gas wells 
but as yet there has been no commercial utilization of the product. 

NORTHERN ILLINOIS 

No tests have been made as yet in response to the discovery of a 
seep of oil and gas along a small fault plane near Coal City, described 
in a previous bulletin.^ 

In McLean County two dry holes were put down, one at Downs 
and the other at Le Roy. Whether or not these holes should be con¬ 
sidered as condemning the structure locally is doubtful, owing to the 
fact that the location of the axis of the La Salle anticline in this area is 
not known definitely. That it passes northwest in the general vicinity 
of McLean County, seems clear, but drilling has been so meager and 
scattered that determination of the axis exactly has been impossible. 


MISCELLANEOUS DRILLING ’ ’ 

One test credited with an initial production of two barrels and not 
mentioned above was drilled in Madison County in 1917 on the Keller 
farm, in sec. 8 of Collinsville Township. Other holes not already noted, 
all of them dry, were drilled as follows during 1917 and 1918: 


1917 


County 


Townshii) 


Section 


Bond.La Grange. 

La Grange.. 
Burgess.... 

Edwards.Shelby. 

Fayette.Lone Grove 

Madison.Saline. 

Omphghent. 
Collinsville. 
Helvetia.... 

Hamel. 

Hamel.. 


Morgan.Waverly. ... 

Perry.T. 5 S., R. 1 W. 

Randolph.Sparta (?). 

Washington.Irvington, 2 holes 


21 

28 

34 

35 
12 
27 
13 

8 

12 

10 

15 

22 

4 

26 


^ St. Clair, Stuart, The Ava area: Ill. State Geol. Survey Bull. 35, pp. 57-65, 1917. 
2 Kay, F. H., Petroleum in Illinois in 1916: Ill. State Geol. Survey Bull. 35, pp. 
16-17, 1917. 


























18 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


1918 


County 

Township 


County 

Cumberland. 

.Crooked Creek. 

• 

36 

Douglas. 

.Sargent. 


35 

TVTad isnn 

.Olive. 


9 


Olive. 


15 

Washington. 

.Irvington. 


26 


SUMMARY TABLES 

The following tables summarize oil development in Illinois during 
1917 and 1918. Tables 3 and 4 are compiled directly from the Oil City 
Derrick. Tables 5 and 6 are com])iled from the same source with addi¬ 
tions by the author, which accounts for the difference in total. It was 
impossible to include additions in Tables 3 and 4 because in most cases 
the month of completion was not known, while for Tables 5 and 6 this 
information was not necessary. 

The total number of wells drilled to January 1, 1918, was 25,997 
of which 4,825, or 18.0 per cent, were dry. Similar statistics for Janu¬ 
ary 1, 1919, are 20,407 wells, 4,945 of which, or 18.9 per cent, were dry. 


Table 3 .—Monthly record of wells drilled in Illinois, 1917 


Month 

Completed 

• 

New 

production 

Dry 

holes 

Average 

initial 

production 

Abandoned 

wells 

Gas 

wells 

January. 

66 

1,165 

14 

22.3 

11 


February. 

46 

790 

17 

27.3 

12 

1 

March. 

40 

384 

13 

14.2 

14 


April. 

55 

694 

13 

16.9 

15 

2 

May. 

64 

1,020 

13 

20.8 

9 

2 

June. 

61 

1,161 

10 

23.0 

12 


July. 

73 

861 

23 

16.0 

20 

1 

August. 

72 

1,437 

15 

24.5 

15 

, , 

September.... 

47 

1,091 

9 

30.3 

26 

2 

October. 

48 

672 

8 

17.2 

22 

• 1 

November. 

41 

509 

10 

16.4 

• • ■ 33 

* * • • 


36 

354 

11 

1 p; Q> •« 


. ’ 'jLi •: . 


iD.y 

' ' lo 


Total. . 

649 

10 138 

1 56 

90 Q 

909 


1916. 

1,459 

24,713 

317 

"• '22.3 

•'T45 ' 

Q 




' ■ ' 



* * ^ /I 1 





































































PETROLEUM IN ILLINOIS IN 1917 AND 1918 


19 


Tarle 4. —Monthly record of wells drilled in Illinois, 1918 


i 

1 

Month 

Completed 

New 

production 

Dry 

holes 

Average 

initial 

production 

Abandoned 

wells 

Gas 

wells 

January. 

13 

248 

4 

27.6 

21 

1 

February. 

5 

11 

1 

3.7 

2 

1 

March. 

27 

308 

9 

17.2 

1 


April. 

38 

378 

12 

14.5 

22 

1 

May. 

30 

454 

8 

23.7 

10 

3 

June. 

41 

470 

9 

14.7 

20 

• • 

July. 

46 

978 

13 

30.6 

31 

1 

August. 

49 

676 

17 

19.2 

30 

• . 

September.. .. 

38 

950 

11 

35.2 

26 

1 

October. 

25 

369 

5 

19.5 

18 

• » 

November. 

42 

498 

13 

11.8 

7 

1 

December. 

42 

559 

11 

13.3 

26 


Total. 

396 

5,899 

113 

19.3 

214 

9 

1917. 

649 

10,138 

156 

20.9 

202 

9 


Tarlb 5. —County record of ivells drilled in Illinois, 1917 


County 

Completed 

New 

production 

Dry 

holes 

Abandoned 

wells 

Gas 

wells 

Bond" . 

3 

! 

1 

3 



Clark. 

137 

1,439 

21 

22 


Clinton . 

9 

10 

8 

6 


Coles . 

1 


1 



Crawford . 

276 

3,103 

71 

63 

n 

1 

Cumberland . 

26 

148 

1 



Edgar . 

6 

40 

5 



Edwards". 

1 


1 



Fayette". 

1 


1 

• • 


Hancock. 

* 

15 

1 

• • 


Jackson® . 

2 


2 



Jasper . 



- • 

1 


Johnson" . 

1 


1 



Lawrence . 

133 

4,297 

19 

93 

1 

McDonough . 

18 

46 

4 

1 


McLean" . 

2 

• • 

2 



Macoupin" . 

2 

• • 

2 

• • 


Madison" . 

7 

2 

6 



Marion . 

6 


5 

11 

1 

Montgomery" . 

1 


1 

i 

• • 
































































































20 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Table 5. —County record of wells drilled in- Illinois, 1911—Concluded 


County 

Completed 

New 

production 

Dry 

holes 

1 

Abandoned 
wells 1 

Gas 

wells 

Morgan'*. 

1 


1 



• • 

Perry. 

2 


2 




Pike'*. 

4 


2 




Randolph'*. 

1 


1 



• • 

Saline. 

2 


2 



- • 

Wabash. 

28 

1,040 

16 

5 



Total. 

674 

10,140 

179 

202 

9 


“ Added by author. 


Table 6.— County record of wells drilled in Illinois, 1918 


County 

Completed 

New 

production 

Dry 

holes 

Abandoned 

wells 

Gas 

wells 

Clark. 

71 

560 

11 

15 


Clinton. 

9 

35 

5 

3 

1 

Coles. 

5 

• • 

4 


1 

Crawford. 

201 

2,482 

62 

96 

6 

Cumberland. 

1 

1 




Douglas®. 

1 


1 


• • 

Edgar. 

2 

6 

• • 


• • 

Jackson®. 

10 

• • 

4 


6 

Jasper. 

3 

5 

1 



Lawrence. 

71 

2,601 

13 

98 


McDonough. 

11 

63 




Macoupin®. 

1 

• • 

1 



Madison®. 

2 


2 



Marion. 

2 


2 



Wabash. 

18 

146 

13 

2 

• • 

Washington. 

2 

• • 

2 


• • 

Total. 

410 

5,899 

121 

214 

14 


» Added by author. 

























































































BROWN COUNTY 

Jiy Merle L. Nebel 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction. 22 

Acknowledgments. 22 

Method of field work. 23 

Personnel of party. 23 

Key horizons. 23 

Physiography. 24 

Stratigraphy. 25 

General statement. 25 

Unconsolidated rocks. 25 

Alluvium. 25 

Loess. 25 

Glacial drift. 26 

Consolidated rocks. 27 

General description. 27 

Rocks outcropping in the region. 28 

Carbondale formation. 28 

Pottsville formation. 30 

St. Louis limestone. 31 

Salem limestone. 32 

Warsaw formation. 36 

Keokuk formation. 37 

Rocks known only from drill records. 38 

Burlington limestone. 38 

Kinderhook and Upper Devonian shales.•. 38 

Devonian limestone. 38 

Niagaran dolomite. 39 

Ordovician rocks. 39 

Possible oil-producing horizons. 40 

Structure. 41 

General statement. 41 

Relation of structure to accumulation of oil. 43 

Detailed structure. 44 

Localities previously tested. 46 

Recommendations. 49 


(21) 





































22 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


4 

ILLUSTRATIONS 


I. Map of Brown County, showing structural contours based on 
the elevation of No. 2 coal above sea level. 


FIGUKK 

2. Entrenched meanders. 25 

3. Large mass of Pennsylvanian shale and coal imbedded in glacial 

drift. 27 

4. Nodular limestone. 30 

5. Bluff of Carbondale and Pottsville. 31 

6. Cross-bedding in Salem limestone. 32 

7. Peculiar weathering of argillaceous Salem limestone. 33 

8. Massive brown dolomite (Salem). 34 

9. Contact of Salem dolomite and Warsaw shale. 35 

10. Brown dolomite grading laterally into shale. 35 

11. Local unconformity between Salem and Warsaw.^.. 36 

12. Unconformity between Salem and Warsaw. 37 

13. Diagram, to scale, of unconformity, the left half of which is 

photographed in figure 12. 38 

14. Diagrams showing conditions governing oil accumulation. 42 


INTRODUCTION 

The purpose of this report is to present the results of a survey of 
Brown County made during the fall of 1917. It attempts to describe 
briefly the general geology of the region, but the principal object is to 
point out the rock structure and its relation to possible accumulations 
of oil or gas. Figure 1 shows the area covered by the rei)ort. 

Acknowledgments 

Professors T. E. Savage and Stuart Weller of the Geological Sur¬ 
vey staff* were freely consulted in connection with the correlation of the 
Salem and St. Louis formations, and their assistance is gratefully ac¬ 
knowledged. Professor Savage in addition gave valuable assistance in 
reading the manuscript. 

The work was begun under the direction of J. L. Rich, who made a 
])reliminary study of the region and selected certain key horizons which 
could be readily identified and used as a basis for determining the 
structure. His work covered a])proximately the northern half of the 
county, exce])t for a small area worked out by Horse and Rich in 1914.^ 
The southern half of the county was worked by the author. 

1 Morse, W. C., and Kay, F. H., Area south of the Colmar oil field: Illinois 
State Geol. Survey Bull. 31, p. 10, 191,'). 

















BROWN COUNTY 


23 


Method of field work 

It is known that practically all folding in the area under consid¬ 
eration took place after the deposition of the youngest of the consoli¬ 
dated rocks, and therefore structural deformations of the oil sands are 
reflected in the hard rocks appearing at the surface. The method of work 
was based, then, upon the fact that the rock layers at some depth, in¬ 
cluding all oil-bearing horizons, lie essentially parallel to those outcropping 
at the surface. Definite beds that could be easily recognized by the 
geologist were selected as key horizons, and the structure determined 
by running instrumental levels to each bed. 

The field party was com])osed of a geologist in charge, a transitman. 
and two rodmen. The geologist identified the key horizons, such as coal 
beds or limestones, and measured the intervals between them. He se¬ 
lected numerous points, spaced as uniformly as possible, where the key 
rocks were exposed and at which elevations were later obtained by the 
transit jiarty under his direction. An early method of marking these 
points so that they could be recognized by the transit party was to place 
u])on them flags consisting of cheesecloth squares on a lath staff. Each 
]X)int was located on the map by the pacing and compass method, and a 
copy of the map furnished to the transitman. So much difficulty was 
encountered in finding these flags in wooded areas that another method 
was devised. Instead of placing a flag the geologist carried a hand- 
level line to some prominent object a few paces away, such as a large 
blazed tree, a gate post, etc., and carefully described it in his notes. This 
object was numbered with crayon or paint and the transit party fur¬ 
nished with a copy of the description as well as a copy of the map 
showing locations of all points. With this method the geologist was 
enabled to keep his work several weeks in advance of the leveling. 

Personnel of Party 

The party, in addition to Messrs. Rich and Nebel, included at dif¬ 
ferent times R. Pinheiro, D. D. Sparks, A. H. Thurston, Paul Birming¬ 
ham, George Burgesser, and William Calvo. 

Key Horizons 

The jirincipal key horizon used in determining the structure is a 
thin coal bed known as No. 2 (Colchester) of the Illinois section. It 
outcrops at numerous jioints throughout western Illinois, is uniform in 
thickness, and is easily identified. In areas where this coal does not out¬ 
crop other rocks either below or above it were used as key horizons, and 
the intervals between these rocks and the coal were measured as fre- 


24 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


quently as possible. The horizons used and the distance between each one 
and No. 2 coal are as follows: 

8. Base of third nodular limestone 125 feet above top of No. 2 coal. 

7. Base of Chonetes limestone, 112 feet above top of No. 2 coal. 

6. Base of second nodular limestone 98 to 102 feet above top of No. 2 coal. 

5. Base of shaly, fossiliferous limestone, 20 to 41 feet above top of No. 2 

coal. 

4. Top of No. 2 coal. 

3. Base of first nodular limestone, 9 to 17 feet below top of No. 2 coal. 

2. Top of Salem limestone 24 to 50 feet below top of No. 2 coal. 

1. Base of Salem limestone 50 to 70 feet below top of No. 2 coal. 

As soon as the elevation of any key horizon was determined, the 
hypothetical elevation of No. 2 coal at that place was computed by adding 
or subtracting the interval between the two as measured in the nearest 
exposure. 

The top of the Salem limestone is second in importance to the top 
of No. 2 coal as a key horizon, and was used frequently in the south¬ 
eastern portion of Brown County. The interval between the two is var¬ 
iable, but by measuring it frequently and using the nearest measurement 
to a given exposure in computing the hypothetical elevation of the coal, 
results were obtained which are believed to be reliable. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY 

Brown County lies on the eastern slope of the divide between the 
Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The surface of the central and west 
central portions of the county is a flat, undissected prairie sloping gently 
to the east. The northern portion is drained by Crooked Creek and its 
tributaries, the eastern quarter by small creeks flowing directly into Illi¬ 
nois River, and the southern third by McGees Creek, which flows from 
east to west across the county and empties into the Illinois a few miles 
below Perry Springs. Timewell is 756 feet above mean sea level, and 
at the J^Iount Sterling water tower the altitude falls to 735. At Hers- 
man it is 695, at Gilbirds it is 662, and at Versailles, 588. The flood 
plain of Illinois River lies at an elevation of about 440 feet above mean 
sea level, that of Crooked Creek at about 440 to 450, and that of Mc¬ 
Gees Creek at 450 south of Versailles to 550 south of Siloam. There 
is a maximum relief of 300 feet, and the county as a whole is hilly and 
rough except in the central and western portions. The valley sides are 
usually steep and the flood plains narrow. An interesting example of en¬ 
trenched meanders (fig. 2) was noted in the SE. ^ sec. 18, T. 2 S., 
R. 3 W., near the head of a small intermittent stream which flows 
southeast into McGees Creek. 


BROWN COUNTY 


25 


STRATIGRAPHY 
General Statement 

The hard rocks of the region are almost everywhere covered by a 
mantle of unconsolidated clay, sand, and gravel. These unconsolidated 
rocks consist of material deposited in the valleys by the present streams, 
and called alluviiiiii, of fine material deposited by the wind, and called 
loess, and of material deposited by the continental glaciers, known as 
drift. The hard rocks are ordinary shales, sandstones, and limestones. 

Unconsolidated Rocks 

ALLUVIUM 

The alluvium deposited by the streams consists of fine sand, gravel, 
and clay which has been washed away from the hills and carried into 



Fig. 2. Entrenched meanders. The curved cliff in the center of the photograph 

is of Salem limestone and is about 20 feet high. 

the valleys of such streams as McGees and Crooked creeks and Illinois 
River. Its greatest thickness is reached in the valleys of Crooked Creek 
and Illinois River. A deep well drilled near Crooked Creek passed 
through 210 feet of alluvium before reaching bed rock. 

LOESS 

The loess is a fine, yellow, wind-blown dust which covers the up¬ 
lands to a depth of several feet. It is usually thicker along the blufifs 
overlooking the valleys and thinner back on the uplands. Along the 
bluffs of Illinois River it is in places as much as 100 feet thick, but over 










26 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


most of the county is only a, few feet thick. Because of this peculiar 
distribution, it is generally believed that the tine-grained material which 
forms the loess has been picked up from the flood plains of the larger val¬ 
leys and spread over the adjacent territory by the wind. .V prominent char¬ 
acteristic of loess is its tendency to stand in vertical cliffs where ex¬ 
posed by stream erosion. 


GLACIAL DRIFT 

The glacial drift underlies the loess, and overlies and conceals the 
bed rock throughout the region except where it has been cut through by 
the streams. It consists of a blue or yellow boulder clay (lllinoian till) 
with occasional layers or beds of sand or gravel. 1 he clay contains num¬ 
erous boulders or pebbles of many different kinds of rock, usually of 
the harder varieties, such as granite, diabase, quartzite, limestone, etc., 
which have been carried great distances by the glacier and deposited with 
an unsorted mass of sand and clay. Soft rocks, such as shale, have been 
ground up for the most part into a fine clay, but occasionally a mass of 
shale like that underlying the glacial drift over much of the county was 
j)icked uj) and moved a short distance by the ice without being greatly 
broken uj). Such a mass is shown in the accompanying photograph 
(fig. 3). It is about 30 feet long by 15 feet thick and consists of ordi¬ 
nary gray and blue shale with nearly a foot of coal at the base. It is 
tilted at an angle of about 30° but remains unbroken, although it is com¬ 
pletely imbedded in yellow till which is well exposed above and below 
and on either side. This mass of shale and coal lies below the level of 
the top of the Salem limestone, which is stratigraphically 25 feet or 
more below the level of any coal-bearing strata at this locality. 

The thickness of the drift averages about 30 to 40 feet over the 
county as a whole. The greatest thickness is over preglacial lowlands and 
the maximum noted is 120 feet. 


Consolidated Rocks 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION 

The known consolidated rocks underlying this area include all those 
formations from the lower ])art of the “Coal Measures” down to the St. 
Peter sandstone. Only Pennsylvanian and iMississippian rocks outcrop 
in the county, and include the Carbondale and Pottsville formations of 
the Pennsylvanian system, and the St. Louis, Salem, Wkirsaw, and Keo¬ 
kuk formations of the Mississi])])ian system. 44ie rocks lying below the 
Keokuk are known only from the records of wells which have been 
drilled through them. Nothing is known of the rocks below the St. Peter 
sandstone, for no wells have been drilled through it in this region. 


BROWN COUNTY 


27 


Pennsylvanian rocks l^elonging to the Carbondale and Pottsville 
formations underlie the drift over about three-fourths of the county, 
but in places in the southeastern portion they were completely eroded 
before glacial times, and glacial drift lies directly upon Mississippian 
limestones. 

The accompanying generalized section will give an idea of the 
character and thickness of the different formations exposed at the sur- 



Fig, 3. Large mass of Pennsylvanian shale and coal imbedded in glacial drift 

in SW. 14 SW. 14 sec. 26, T. 1 S., R. 2. \V. 

face or explored in deep drilling in this area, and their relations to one 
another. 

Generalized section of hard rocks in Brown County 
Pennsylvanian system— 

Carbondale formation; consists of shales, sandstones, thin limestones, 
and No. 5 and No. 2 coals. Upper limit is the top of No. 6 (Herrin) 
coal which is not present in this area, and lower limit is the base of 
No. 2 coal. Maximum thickness in Brown County is about 130 feet. 

Pottsville formation; soft gray or white clay shale (fire clay), sandstone, 
and a thin limestone; from the base of No. 2 coal to the top of Mis- 
sissippian limestone. Thickness variable; 6 to 50 feet. 

Mississippian system— 

St. Louis limestone; white limestone conglomerate or breccia near top, 
fine-grained buff or gray dolomite below; much broken and with green 
shale partings. Thickness 8 to 26 feet. 

Salem limestone'; green to brown sandstone above and gray or brown 
granular, fossiliferous limestone below. Both sandstone and limestone 
were formerly quarried extensively for building stone. Thickness 18 
to 35 feet. 




28 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Generalized section of hard rocks in Brown County—Concluded 

Warsaw formation; gray shales with thin, lenticular limestone beds. 
Geodes are abundant in the shales, and both limestones and shales 
are crowded with bryozoan remains. Thickness 30 to 55 feet. Some¬ 
times as much as 80 feet is reported in drill records but this probably 
includes much of the Salem and Keokuk. 

Keokuk limestone; thin-bedded, cherty limestone with abundant fossils. 
It outcrops in only one locality in Brown County where an exposure 
24 feet thick was noted. Normal thickness 40 to 75 feet. 

Burlington limestone; white, fossiliferous limestone (crinoidal) with 
abundant chert. Not exposed in Brown County. The St. Louis, Salem, 
Warsaw, Keokuk, and Burlington formations where penetrated in drill 
holes are grouped together and called the “first lime” or “Mississippian 
limestone”. The total thickness of this group as shown in well records 
is from 325 to 350 feet. 

Kinderhook shale; gray shales, not exposed in Brown County and known 
only from drill records. Thickness 80 to 100 feet. In drill records 
it is usually not distinguished from the underlying Upper Devonian 
shale. The two have a thickness of 160 to 200 feet. 

Devonian system— 

Upper Devonian shale; brown shales with numerous spores of Sporangites. 
Thickness 20 to 100 feet. Not exposed in Brown County and in well 
records is commonly grouped with Kinderhook shales, the two together 
having a thickness of 160 to 200 feet. 

Devonian limestone; known only in drill records and usually grouped 
with the Niagaran, the two having a thickness of 10 to 75 feet. In 
rare cases neither limestone is found. 

Silurian system— 

Niagaran dolomite; porous limestone or dolomite known only in drill 
records and grouped with the Hamilton. Thickness 10 to 75 feet. It 
is in this limestone that the gas of the Pike County gas field occurs. 
Sometimes a porous sandstone occurs at the base of the Niagaran. This 
is the rock which produces the oil of the Colmar oil field and is known 
as the “Hoing sand.” When present it varies in thickness from a few 
inches to 30 feet or more. 

Ordovician system— 

Maquoketa shale; gray and brown shales, usually 180 to 200 feet thick. 

Kimmswick-Plattin limestone; gray limestone penetrated only by very 
deep wells. Usually 200 to 400 feet thick. 

St. Peter sandstone; a pure white, clean sandstone, containing large quanti¬ 
ties of water. This is the rock which furnishes the water in the deep 
well at Mount Sterling at a depth of 2,433 feet. Only the deepest wells 
penetrate it. 

ROCKS OUTCROPPING IN THE REGION 
CARHONDALK F0R:MATI0X 

The Carbondale formation consists of gray shales with thin beds of 
limestone, sandstone and coal. Tt includes No. 2, No. 5, and No. 6 coals, 
but in Brown County No. (5 is absent, and No. a is rarely found. No. 2 


BROWN COUNTY 


29 


coal is distributed widely over the county from north to south, and its 
uniform thickness, easy identihcation, and wide distribution make it by 
far the best key horizon for determining the structure. 

A composite section of this formation, showing its normal char¬ 
acter in the north half of the county is as follows: 


Generalized section of the Carhondale formation in the north 

County 


half of Brown 

Thickness 
Feet inches 


14. Shale, gray. 5 

13. Limestone, white, nodular (key horizon No. 8). 2 6 

12. Shale, gray. 11 

11. Limestone, gray, with Chonetes f and Syirifer cameratus 

(key horizon No. 7). 1 

10. Shale, gray. 13 

9. Limestone, white or light gray, heavy nodular (key hori¬ 
zon No. 6). 5 

8. Clay shale, soft, gray or blue. 6 

7. Sandstone and sandy shale. 10 

6. Shales, blue gray, sandy. 59 

5. Limestone, shaly, fossiliferous (key horizon No. 5). 2 6 

4. Clay shales, blue, sandy. 20 6 

3. Limestone, black, septarian. 1 

2. Shales, black, bituminous, thin-bedded (black slate).... 3 

1. No. 2 coal (key horizon No. 4). 2 


141 6 

The upper part of this section is found only in the northern half of 
the county. The heavy nodular limestone (key horizon No. 6) is found 
as far south as the headwaters of Dry Fork in sec. 18, T. 1 S., R. 3 W., 
and sec. 13, T. 1 S., R. 4 W. (See figure 4.) The maximum thickness 
of the Carhondale found south of these points is 60 feet. On the whole, 
the strata of the Carhondale are very uniform in thickness, although 
there are local variations. No. 5 coal is absent except in one or two 
localities. It has been mined in secs. 8 and 9, T. 1 S., R. 3 W., in the 
valley three-quarters of a mile north of Mount Sterling, where it is 1>4 
to 3 feet thick and lies 15 to 17 feet above the heavy nodular limestone 
(key horizon No. 6). The black carbonaceous shale above No. 2 coal 
varies locally in thickness and in its position above the coal. In the 
southern half of the county it almost invariably lies directly on the coal, 
while farther north 3 to 8 feet of blue shale may intervene between the 
two. This black shale l)ed, together with the zone of large septarian con¬ 
cretions of black limestone above it, makes the identification of No. 2 
coal easy. 

















30 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


]‘OTTSVILLE FORMATION 

The Pottsville formation includes all strata from the base of No. 2 
coal to the top of the Mississippian limestone. It is made ip) ])rincipally 
of shale or sandstone with an occasional bed of thin coal or limestone. 
Its thickness is extremely variable. North and east of Mount Sterling 
it is in places as much as 50 feet. On the hill at La Grange, near the 
center of sec. 29, T. 1 S., R. 1 W., the following section was measured: 


Section measui'ed near center of sec. -29, T. 1 S., R. J TV 

Thickness 

Feet inches 

14. Drift and loess. 

13. Shale, sandy . 

12. Shale, black, carbonaceous. 3 6 

11. No. 2 coal (key horizon No. 4). 1 8 

10. Shale and underclay. 7 

9. Limestone, white, nodular (key horizon No. 3). 5 


8. Shale, gray . 

7. Shale, sandy . ^ 

6. Clay shale, weathers out white. 9 

5. Coal .■. 4 

4. Sandstone, ferruginous. 5 

3. Shales, sandy, and clay. 9 

2. Limestone, (St. Louis). 12 6 

1. Dolomite, sandy (Salem) (key horizon No. 2). 20 6 


199 6 



Fig. 4. Nodular limestone near center of sec. 8, T. 1 S., R. 3 W. 




















BROWN COUNTY 


31 


The Pottsville here includes meml^ers 3 to 10 with a total thickness 
of 41 feet 4 inches. 

South of iMount Sterling and over the southern half of the county 
the Pottsville is rarely over 15 feet thick, and it consists almost entirely 
of a soft, white or light-gray clay shale with an occasional lens of sand¬ 
stone. The shale frequently contains many crystals of gypsum. Along 
McGees Creek and its tributaries the thickness varies from 1 to 15 feet. 
(See Fig. 5.) The Pottsville usually lies upon the St. Louis limestone, 
but in a few instance exposures were found where the St. Louis has 
been completely eroded and the Pottsville rested directly upon the Salem 
limestone. 



Fig. 5. Bluff of Carbondale and Pottsville in NW. Vi sec. 17, T. 2 S., R. 4 W. 

Pottsville from base of No. 2 coal (behind man) to St. Louis limestone 
in creek bed is 714 feet thick. 


ST. I.OUIS LTMKSTOXK 


4'he St. Louis limestone is the youngest formation of the Missis- 
sip] )ian system found in this region. It formed an old land surface 
])revious to the de])Osition of the IMttsville rocks and conse((uently has 
been ])artially, sometimes completely, removed by erosion. The maxi¬ 
mum thickness found in this region is 2(1 feet, ddie upper ])art consists 
of a very characteristic whit? limestone conglomerate or breccia, and the 
lower ])art of poorly bedded, very hne-grained, gray or buff dolomite. 
It is generally unfossiliferous exce])t for the u])per few feet in which the 
corals Lithostrotion prolifcriiin and LitJiostrotion cauadciisc are in 





32 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


places abundant. A prominent feature of the St. Louis is the presence 
of thin stringers and layers of bright-green shale, which varies from a 
mere parting to two feet thick. 

The following section is typical of the more complete exposure of 
St. Louis in this region: 

Measured seetion of St. Louis formation near eenter of sec. 10, T. 2 8., R. 4 W. 

Thickness 
Feet inches 

6 . Limestone, light gray, with abundant branching corals 


(Lithostrotion proliferum) . 3 

5. Limestone, white, brecciated. 10 

4. Shale, green . .. 6 

3. Dolomite, broken, light gray. 1 

2. Dolomite, fine grained, sandy. 7 6 

1. Shale, green . 1 


23 



Fig. 6. Cross-bedding in Salem limestone, SE. Sec. 8, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. 

SALEM LIMESTONE 


Underlying the St. Louis limestone, and unconformable with it, is 
the Salem limestone. This formation is extremely variable in character 
and may consist of gray, crystalline limestone, of limestone and sand¬ 
stone, or of a very sandy brown dolomite. In many cases it is extremely 
difficult to determine an exact line of contact between it and the over- 














BROWN COUNTY 


33 

lying St. Louis, or the underlying W arsaw. W^here the gray crystalline 
limestone occurs it contains numerous fossils and can easily be identified. 
Following is a list of specimens collected from this horizon in the NE. ^ 
sec. 24, T. 2 S., R. 4 W. : 


Fenestella sp. 

Productus altonensis 
Echinoconchus biseriatus 
Camarotoechia mutata 
Eumetria verneuiliana 


Spirifer bifurcatiis 
Spirifer sp. 

Composita trinuclea 
Aviculopecten talboti 
Leperditia carbonaria 


Professor T. E. Savage has examined the fossils and confirmed the 
identification of the limestone as Salem in age. 



P^g. 7. Peculiar weathering of argillace¬ 
ous Salem limestone, SW. ^ 
sec. 23, T. 2 S., R 4 W. 

In this jihase it closely resembles the well-known Bedford limestone 
and has an oolitic appearance due to the presence of small rounded 
shells of the foraminifer, Endothyra baileyi. It is nearly always cross- 
bedded and this cross-bedding is sometimes so perfect that the rock 
splits into thin, parallel plates. (See figure 6.) The thickness varies 
from 12 to 30 feet. It is usually sandy near the top and frequently 
grades upward into a bright green, non-fossiliferous, calcareous sand- 






34 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


stone which is generally 2 to 5 feet thick, but which may attain a thick¬ 
ness of 12 to 15 feet. When this sandstone is absent the gray limestone 
lies directly below the St. Louis. 

Another phase of the Salem is a soft, gray, argillaceous limestone 
which in places lies directly below the St. Louis and is from 10 to 15 
feet thick. This rock is poorly bedded and weathers in a peculiar man- 



Fig. 8. Massive brown dolomite (Salem), 

SW. sec. 26, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. 

ner. On vertical outcrops it scales off at right angles to the bedding in 
thin, 11 regulai, cuived plates from a few inches to two or three feet 
across and an inch or less in thickness. (See figure 7.) This is prob¬ 
ably a result of frost action. 

Ihe lower part of the Salem is usually a massive, brown, sandy 
dolomite (fig. 8) which may lie in sharp contact with the underlying 
Warsaw shales (fig. 9) or which may grade so gradually into shale 
both laterally and vertically that it is impossible to draw a sharp line be¬ 
tween the two formations. (See figure 10.) Although most exposures 







BROWN COUNTY 


35 



Fig. 9. Contact of Salem dolomite (above) and Warsaw shale (below), SW. 

sec. 17, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. 



Pig. 10. Brown dolomite grading laterally into shale, NW. sec. 4, T. 3 S., 

R. 3 W 


indicate continuous deposition from W'arsaw to Salem, in one or two 
cases local nnconformities occur between the two. (See fii^ures 11, 12, 
and Id.) 











36 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


V/ A KS A \V FO II:M AT IO N 

The Warsaw formation, as exposed in this region, consists prin¬ 
cipally of blue, calcareous or clay shales with thin, lenticular limestones. 
Both shales and limestones are fossiliferous, hryozoans being especially 
abundant. The lenticular nature of the limestones is worthy of note, for 
although a number of such beds occur, they are of small areal extent, 
and it was found im})ossible to trace a single bed from place to place so 
that it might be used in working out structure. Geodes are common in 
both the shales and the limestones of the Warsaw formation. The max¬ 
imum thickness noted was 55 feet, but in some of the deep wells 80 feet 
of shale has been reported. This probably includes a part of the Keokuk 
formation. 



Fig. 11. Local unconformity between Salem and Warsaw. Salem limestone 
(above) dipping to the right; Warsaw (below) horizontal. 


The following section is typical of the Warsaw of this region: 

Measured section of the Warsaiv formation along a stream in SE. ^ sec. 18, 

T. 2 S., R. 3 W. 

• Thickness 

Feet inches 


15. Shale, blue, calcareous. 2 6 

14. Clay shale, soft, blue, unfossiliferous. 6 

13. Limestone, geodiferous, with abundant fossils. 1 6 

12. Clay shale, blue, full of geodes. 2 

••••••• hd ^ ^ 

11. Clay shale, blue . 2 

•••••• 6d 

10. Limestone, with abundant fossils. 2 6 












BROWN COUNTY 


37 


Measured seciion of the Warsaw formation—Concluded 

Thickness 
Feet inches 


9 Shales, sandy, with thin lenses of limestone, fossiliferous 4 

8. Clay shales, soft, blue... 6 

7. Limestone, sandy, full of fossils. . . g 

6. Clay shales, soft, blue, with abundant bryozoans. 2 

5. Clay shales, soft, blue, free from fossils. 12 

4. Geode bed. .. 6 

3. Clay shales, soft, blue. 4 e 

2. Clay shales, blue, alternating with thin, sandy limestone 

beds . . 4 

1. Clay shales, soft, blue, exposed. 7 


57 2 



Fig. 12. Unconformity between Salem (above), dipping to the right, and War¬ 
saw (below) horizontal, SE. )4 sec. 19, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. 

KEOKUK FOKJMATION 

7 he Keokuk formation of this region consists of an upper bed of 
shale which is crowded with geodes for the most part, and a lower mem¬ 
ber of gray, crystalline limestone with numerous lenses and thin layers 
of chert. The W'arsaw shales lie above the geode beds in perfect con¬ 
formity with them, and no attcm])t was made to distinguish between the 
two in this work. The geode beds outcro]) along jMcCiees Creek in the 
southwestern corner of the county. 

d'he lower limestone member outcro])s at only one or two localities 
near the county line south of Tenville, where a maximum thickness of 
24 feet was measured, h'ossils collected from this limestone were identi- 














38 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


fied as of Keokuk age by Stuart Weller of the University of Chicago. 
This limestone is the oldest rock which outcrops in the county. Nothing 
is known of the rocks lower down in the geological column, except from 
information obtained in drilling deep wells. 

Rocks Known Only From Drill Records 

]JURLI^'GTOX LIMESTONE 

Immediately below the Keokuk limestone is a thick, white limestone 
containing numerous masses of chert or Hint. It is never distinguished 
from the Keokuk in ordinary drilling operations, but the two are re¬ 
ported together and have a thickness of 200 to 220 feet. They make up 
the lower part of the “first lime” or “Mississippi lime”. Frequently the 
whole series from the top of the St. Louis to the base of the Burlington 
is included as the “first lime” and its total thickness is about 325 to 350 
feet. 



Horizontal &. vertical scale in feet 


Fig. 13. Diagram to scale, of unconformity, the left half of which is photo¬ 
graphed in figure 11. 

KINDERIIOOK AND UPPER DEVONIAN SHALES 

Below the Burlington limestone, and forming the base of the Missis- 
sippian system is a thick bed of blue shale, known as the Kinderhook 
formation. Below it is usually found a brown shale of Upper Devonian 
age, which contains numerous tiny spores of the plant known as 
Sporangites huronensc. The two shale beds are rarely distinguished by 
drillers, but are rejiorted together with a total thickness of 160 to 200 
feet. 


DEVON IA N I.I M ESTON E 

A thin, gray, non-magnesian limestone is usually found immediately 
below the Ujqier Devonian shales. This is believed to be the late Mid- 























































BROWN COUNTY 


39 


die Devonian limestone of the northwest Illinois and Iowa province. 
It is rarely more than 15 feet thick. It is difficult to distinguish it from 
the underlying Niagaran limestone, which, however, is usually a very 
porous pink dolomite. The two together are reported by drillers as the 
“second lime.” 


NIAGARAN DOLOMITE 

Below the Devonian limestone is frequently found a very porous, 
pink or gray dolomite of Silurian age, known as the Niagaran limestone 
or dolomite. It was deposited upon an irregular, eroded surface and was 
itself subjected to erosion before the deposition of the overlying 
Devonian limestone. In places it was completely removed so that the 
Devonian lies directly upon the Maquoketa shale, but ordinarily a few 
feet of Niagaran is included in the lower part of the “second lime” as 
reported by drillers. The greatest thickness reported for the two lime¬ 
stones is 70 feet. 

The Niagaran limestone is closely associated with oil and gas pro¬ 
duction in western Illinois. It is the “gas rock” of the Pike County gas 
field where wells drilled into it more than 30 years ago are still pro¬ 
ducing gas sufficient for farm use. Some of the wells in this field re¬ 
ported showings of oil as well as gas, and in one or two wells small 
quantities of oil have been produced and used for lubricating purposes. 
The rock is probably capable of acting as a reservoir for oil in commer¬ 
cial quantities, as well as gas. The “broken sand” often reported at the 
base of the “second lime” by drillers is probably this porous dolomite. 
The oil-sand of the Colmar oil field, known as the Hoing sand, lies just 
below the Niagaran dolomite. 

ORDOVICIAN ROCKS 

Below the Niagaran limestone the drill penetrates a succession of 
blue, green, and brown shales, called the Maquoketa shale. This forma¬ 
tion is from 180 to 200 feet thick. It has not been known to produce 
oil, but in the Walker well drilled by the Indian Refining Company, near 
the center of sec. 0, T. 2 N., R. 2 W. (Schuyler County), a showing of 
oil was reported at a depth of 751 feet, about 74 feet below the top of 
the Maquoketa shale. 

Below the Maquoketa in this region is the Kimmswick-Plattin 
limestone, generally known as the “Trenton.” It is a gray, non-mag- 
nesian limestone, and in this region is 200 to 400 feet thick. It is pene¬ 
trated only by the deepest wells. It is not known to be oil-producing in 
western Illinois, although a few wells have been drilled into it. In 


40 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


southeastern Illinois a few deep wells are producing a small amount of 
oil which is believed to come from the Trenton. In Ohio and Indiana 
large quantities of oil have been produced from dolomitic areas in the 
Trenton limestone, and increased production from this horizon may pos¬ 
sibly be obtained in Illinois. 

Below the Kimmswick-Plattin limestone is the St. Peter sandstone, 
a clean, white sandstone which usually contains large quantities of 
water but is not known to be oil producing. The water from the deep 
well at Mount Sterling comes from this formation at a reported depth 
of 2,433 feet. The well is said to have been drilled to a depth of 2,675 
feet. 


POSSIBLE OIL-PRODUCING HORIZONS 

Showings of oil or gas have been reported from several different 
horizons in the rocks which underlie this area, but in western Illinois 
commercial quantities of oil have been produced from only one such 
horizon. The oil produced in the Colmar field comes from a porous 
sandstone lying immediately below the Niagaran dolomite. This is 
known as the “Hoing sand,” and it is this horizon which gives the most 
promise of producing oil in Brown County. Unfortunately it does not 
occur as a continuous bed extending throughout the region, but is found 
only in isolated lenses. This makes prospecting unusually hazardous, 
since it is impossible to predict in advance of drilling whether or not the 
sand will be present. 

The known areas underlain by this sand vary in extent from 4 or 
5 square miles or less up to 40 or 50 square miles. The lens which 
furnishes most of the production in the Colmar field has an areal extent 
of about 10 square miles, but most of the production comes from less 
than half of this area. In general it appears that the sand bodies have a 
lenticular or oval shape, with their greatest diameter in a northeast- 
southwest direction. Where two or more lenses are known to lie in 
close proximity they have a northeast-southwest arrangement. It is still 
uncertain, however, whether this generalization can safely be used in 
prospecting. The thickness of the sand bodies varies from a few inches 
to 30 feet. 

The exact age of the Hoing sand has never been determined, but it 
is certainly early Silurian, and there is some evidence to indicate that it 
is of early Edgewood age. The shape and distribution of the sand 
bodies point either to deposition of sand in isolated low areas prior to the 
deposition of the overlying dolomite, or to extensive erosion after de¬ 
position of the sand, so that only isolated patches survived. 


BROWN COUNTY 


41 


Another horizon in which slight amounts of oil have been found is 
the Niagaran limestone or dolomite. It is very porous and is probably 
capable of serving as a reservoir for the accumulation of oil, although 
so far as known, oil has never been found in it in commercial quantities. 
A well drilled on the Claude Shinn farm, sec. 36, T. 5 S., R. 5 W., pene- 
tiated porous Niagaran filled with a heavy, black oil which is almost as 
viscous as pitch. The Ohio Oil Company reported a heavy black oil 
from the Niagaran in the Seaborn well in sec. 6, T. 4 S., R. 4 W., Pike 
County. Gas is frequently reported by drillers, and in the Pike County 
gas-field wells have been producing from the Niagaran for many years. 

Slight showings of oil are occasionally found in the Alaquoketa 
shale, and if a porous sandstone were present to act as a reservoir in 
which oil could accumulate, it is not unlikely that this formation might be¬ 
come productive, but no such accumulations have been found. In the 
Walker well, drilled by the Indian Refining Company in sec. 9, T. 2 N., 
R. 2. W., Schuyler County, oil was reported in the Alaquoketa shale at 
a depth of 751 feet, and about seven gallons of a light, brown oil are 
said to have been taken out. 

STRUCTURE 
General Statement 

The rocks in the area covered by this report lie practically horizon¬ 
tal, as far as can be seen by the casual observer. There are a few ex¬ 
posures where the beds are seen to be dipping (figs. 11 and 12), but the 
dip of such beds is probably due rather to the irregularity of the surface 
upon which they were deposited, than to any folding or tilting of the 
rocks since their deposition. However, if a single layer of rock, such 
as a bed of coal or limestone is traced over large areas, and its elevation 
above sea level determined at numerous points, it will be found higher 
at some places than at others. If enough elevations are determined, 
areas can be located in which the rocks have been arched up into low 
“anticlines” or “domes.” Careful studies have shown that all of the rocks 
under this region lie approximately parallel to each other, so that if a 
single bed is found to be arched up, it is safe to assume that the under¬ 
lying rocks are arched up in the same manner and at the same place. 
Moreover, it has been shown that the larger part of the folding in this 
region took place after the deposition of the “Coal ^Measures” or 
Pennsylvanian rocks, so that No. 2 coal, for example, is probably folded 
about as much as the Niagaran limestone or other rocks several hundred 
feet below. It is true that the region oscillated above and below sea level 
several times during the deposition of these rocks, and erosion took place 
during periods of emergence so that the planes of contact between differ- 


42 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Ist.drill hole 



2nd.drill hole 



3rd.drill hole 



fig. 14. Diagiams showing conditions governing oil accumulation; 

A. In oil sands saturated with salt water; 

B. In oil sands partly saturated; 

C. In sands containing no water and only partly filled with oil. 











































































































































































BROWN COUNTY 


43 


ent formation are in many cases quite irregular. The oscillations oc¬ 
curred without much deformation, however, so that each new series of 
beds was laid down nearly parallel to the beds below. This makes it 
safe to assume that anticlines existing in rocks at the surface also exist 
in any oil sands which may occur at some depth. 

Relation of Structure to Accumulation of Oil 

Where oil occurs in the rocks there are three principal factors 
which govern its accumulation into pools. These factors are: the exist¬ 
ence of a porous reservoir, the presence of impervious rocks above and 
below the porous reservoir, and the favorable rock structure. There are 
other factors which may apply in certain cases, but in the area under 
consideration the three enumerated are believed to be the most import¬ 
ant. 

Previous testing has shown that in places oil occurs in the rocks 
underlying western Illinois and that where conditions are favorable it 
has accumulated in commercial quantities. These favorable conditions 
are the presence of the porous Hoing sand, with the impervious Maquo- 
keta shale below it, and the relatively impervious Silurian or Devonian 
limestone or Devonian shale above it, and anticlinal or dome structures 
in the rocks. Most of the oil from the Colmar held has been obtained 
from a single lens of porous sandstone (the Hoing sand) lying on a 
structural terrace on the flanks of a large, elongate dome. (3ther lenses 
of sandstone higher up on the dome have produced smaller amounts of 
oil. The rock structure here was an all-important factor in determining 
the location of accumulations of oil. 

In an area where structures such as anticlines or domes are present, 
the localization of oil accumulations depends upon conditions which can 
be determined only by drilling, such as the lateral extent of the oil sand 
and the presence in it of salt water. If the sand underlies only a por¬ 
tion of an anticline or dome, then only that portion can be productive re¬ 
gardless of favorable structures. If the sand contains salt water as well 
as oil, the two will be arranged in the order of their specific gravities, 
with the oil above the water. If the sand is completely saturated with 
the two fluids, the oil‘will lie in the highest portions of the structure, 
that is, at the crest of the anticline or dome, while the water will occupy 
the synclines or basins. (See figure 1-IA.) If the sand is only partly 
saturated the water will still occupy the basins with the oil above it on 
the limbs or slope of the anticlines. If these slopes are flattened at any 
point, forming a terrace, the oil is very likely to lie on such a terrace. 
(See figure MB.) The main productive area in the Colmar field lies on 
just such a terrace. If there is little or no water in the sand the oil will 


44 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


occupy the basins. (See figure 14C.) However, in western Illinois as 
far as is known at present the Hoing sand always contains considerable 
quantities of water, and oil when present has never been found in the 
synclines or basins. Extensive testing in the region surrounding the Col¬ 
mar field has shown the presence of several unconnected bodies of Hoing 
sand of considerable size, but in most cases they are well filled with salt 
water. A large area in the vicinity of Littleton in Schuyler County is 
underlain by Hoing sand and is arched into a well-developed dome. A 
well drilled almost at the center of the dome found large quantities of 
water in the sand with only a small showing of oil. Other wells found 
slight showings of oil, but all found salt water. It is evident that this sand 
body is completely saturated with salt water together with a very small 
amount of oil. 

Previous experience has shown that prospecting for oil in this region 
may well be confined to testing of known structures, if the structures 
can be determined by a study of surface rocks. Taking everything into 
consideration, it is believed that the first test wells should be located near 
the crests of the domes and anticlines. If the sand is found to be absent, 
further testing would not be advisable in the immediate vicinity. If the 
sand is present but is filled with salt water, further testing down the dip 
would not be advisable, for the lower portions of the sand are likely to 
be filled with water also unless a separate sand body is encountered. Just 
such a condition appears to exist in the Colmar field, however, where 
the main production is from a sand body on a terrace 60 feet lower than 
the crest of the dome; yet many wells drilled high up on the dome found 
large quantities of water in the sand. If a first test reveals a good sand 
near the top of the structure, but barren of water or oil, other tests 
should be drilled farther down on the slo])e, especially on terraces. If a 
good sand is found on a terrace, but still barren of oil or water, final 
tests may be drilled in the synclines, where oil is likely to accumulate if 
the sand contains little or no water. 

1)p:tailed Structure 

The detailed structure was worked out by obtaining the elevation 
of the seven key horizons described above. The most uniform and most 
reliable of all these horizons is No. 2 coal, and it was selected as the one 
most likely to show all details of structure. Its elevation above sea level 
was determined either hy direct leveling or by computation from the ele¬ 
vations of the other key horizons, and a structure-contour map con¬ 
structed by drawing lines through all points of equal elevation. This 
map is reproduced in Plate I, and it reveals the structure as follows: 


BROWN COUNTY 


45 


In general the coal dips to the east, but it has a rolling surface upon 
which are developed small domes, anticlines, terraces, and synclines. 
The maximum elevation attained is 653 feet in sec. 5, T. 3 S., R. -4 W. 
(Fairmount Twp.), just over the line in Pike County. The coal in the 
southwestern portion of Brown County is high, with a decline to the 
east of 123 feet to an elevation of 530 near Illinois River. In the north¬ 
western portion of the county it is again high, rising to an elevation of 
617 in sec. 29, T. 1 N., R. 4 W. (Pea Ridge Twp.), and decreasing to 
the east to an elevation of 516 in sec. 24, T. 1 N., R. 3 W. (Missouri 
Twp.). Outcrops are almost lacking in a broad belt across the central 
portion of the county so that it is impossible to predict the structure in 
that area. 

Covering most of T. 2 S., R. 3 W. (Elkhorn Twp.), and parts of 
adjoining townships is a broad terrace upon which lie three small domes. 
The terrace has an elevation of about 580 feet above sea level. A small 
dome covers most of sec. 6, T. 1 S., R. 4 W. (Lee Twp.), and sec. 1, 
T. 2 S., R. 4 W. (Buckhorn Twp.) At the apex of the dome in the NE. 3^^ 
sec. 6, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. (Elkhorn Twp.), the coal has an elevation of 
607 feet and is about 30 feet higher than to the north and east. To the 
south and west there is only a slight decline. 

In sec. 7, 8, 9, 17, and 18, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. (Elkhorn Twp.) is an 
irregular flat dome upon which the coal lies at an elevation of 600 feet 
or 30 feet higher than in the area to the north and east. 

A broad terrace at an elevation of 580 feet covers most of the 
southern half of T. 2 S., R. 3 W. (Elkhorn Twp.), with a slight doming 
in secs. 13, 24, and 25. The apex lies at 596 feet in section 13. To the 
east the rocks dip off rapidly, so that the apex of the dome rises about 
50 feet. To the west there is first a gentle dip, then the rocks rise into a 
sharp anticline. 

Extending almost due north in secs. 16, 17, 20, 21, 32, and 33, T. 2 S., 
R. 4 Wh (Buckhorn Twp.), is a sharp anticlinal nose on which the 
coal lies 50 to 60 feet higher than to the north, east, and west. The shape 

of this structure on the south has not been determined, since field work 
extended only a short distance south of the county line. The highest 
known ])oint is in the NW. 34 sec. 5, T. 3 S., R. 4 W. (Fairmount Twp.), 
Pike County, where the coal lies 653 feet above sea level. To the west the 
coal dips steeply into a narrow syncline, while to the east it slopes gently 
toward the broad terrace in T. 2 S., R. 3 W. (Elkhorn Twjx) It is pos¬ 
sible that additional data in Pike County will modify this structure, and 
that the coal may rise even higher to the south. 

In T. 1 S., R. 2 W. (Cooperstown Twp.), is an area of uplift, Init 
outcroi)S are very few, in this township, and it is impossible to outline the 


46 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


structure accurately. The data available suggest a broad dome with its 
apex in sections 27, 28, 32, 33, and 34, in which the coal lies 20 to 30 feet 
higher than in the area to the west, and 50 to 60 feet higher than in the 
area to the east. It slopes off gently to the north and south. 

In T. 1 N., R. 4 W. (Pea Ridge ITvp.), is a dome with its apex 
lying in sections 20, 21, 28, and 20, at an elevation of 617 feet. It is 30 
feet higher than to the east, south, and west. To the northeast it flat¬ 
tens out into a broad terrace, covering sections 2, 3, 9, 10, 15, and 16 at 
an elevation of 590 to 600 feet. In sections 13 and 14 of the same town¬ 
ship is a slight dome arising about 20 feet above the surrounding terri¬ 
tory, and sloping off into a low, narrow anticline to the northeast in 
secs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, T. 1 N., R. 3 W. (^Missouri Twp.) 

A narrow strip across the northeast corner of the county, covering 
parts of Missouri and Ripley townships, was studied in 1914 by Morse 
and Rich.^ The structural relations suggested by them have been slightly 
modihed by new data, obtained in the course of the present work, but 
no important changes need be made. A dome exists in secs. 1, 2, 11, 
and 12, T. 1 N., R. 3 W. (Missouri Twp.), as indicated by their work, 
with a large syncline to the southeast. The broad Ripley dome in T. 1 N., 
R. 2 W. (Woodstock, Schuyler County, and Ripley, Brown County), 
is best interpreted as a terrace, since the new data indicates that the con¬ 
tour lines do not close around the south end. 

A small synclinal basin in secs. 8, 9, 16, and 17, T. 1 S., R. 3 W. 
(Mt. Sterling Twp.), completes the list of structures brought out by 
the contour map. 


LOCALITIES PREVIOUSLY TESTED 

Several attempts have been made to discover oil in the area covered 
by this report, and five wells have been drilled. The first is said to have 
been drilled 40 or 50 years ago in sec. 24 or 25, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. 
(Elkhorn Twp.), by local people, but no data is available as to the depth 
of the well or the result of the test. The next test well was drilled in 
1914 on the J. and L. Parke farm in sec. 25, T. 1 S., R. 2 W. (Coopers- 
town Twp.), by the Pure Oil Operating Company. No sand was found 
at the base of the Niagaran limestone, and the well was abandoned. 
The log of the well is a follows: 


1 Morse, Wm. C., and Kay. Kred H., The area south of Colmar oil field: Ill. 
State Geol. Survey Bull. 31, pp. 8-36, 1915. 



ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


i 


R 4 W 


R 3 W 


BULLETIN NO, 40. PLATE I 


Outcrop of key horizon No.8 (g Outcrop ol key horizon No.1 


Computed elevation of No.2 coal 4 OO Computed elevation of No.-2 coal 


afcv Outcrop of key horizon No.5 X Coal mine 

Compoled elevation of No.2 coal spo Eie alien of No 2 coal 


X Outcrop of key horizon No.4 -<V Dry hole 


Elevation of No.2 coal 


39 Elevation of niaqa'-an limestone 


Hoing sand horizon 


Contours show elevation of 

Compoted elevation of No.2 co al No.2 coai abo*/e sea level 



MAP OF BROWN COUNTY 

Showing structural contours baaed on the elevation of No. 2 coal above sea level 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































M />l’J8 .lA MOO.IOaO aT/.T8 8IfV/M.lI 


W R 
































































































































































BROWN COUNTY 


47 


Log of J. and L. Parke well, sec. 25 T. 1 8., R. 2 W. 

Surface elevation—648 feet 

Thickness Depth 
Feet Feet 


Sand and gravel (glacial drift). 125 125 

Limestone (Salem) . 20 145 

Slate and shale (Warsaw and Keokuk). 80 225 

Limestone (Keokuk and Burlington). 227 452 

Slate (Kinderhook and Upper Devonian). 195 647 

Limestone (Devonian and Niagaran). 67 714 


Total depth . 714 


Another well was drilled in 1914 on the Sale Johnson farm in the 
NE. sec. 24, T. 2 S., R. 5 W., almost on the line between Brown and 
Adams counties. Here also the sand was absent and the well was dry. 
The log of this well with formation names inserted in parentheses by 
the author is reported by Mr. W. E. Lancaster, as follows: 

Log of Sale Johnson well, NE. 14 sec. 25, T. 2 8., R. 5 W. 

Surface elevation—609 feet 

Thickness Depth 
Feet Feet 


Clay and gravel. 14 14 

Gray lime (strong flow of water) (Salem). 24 38 

Blue shale, with thin streak of shells (Warsaw and Keokuk) 90 128 

White lime (strong flow of water) (Keokuk and Burlington) 220 348 

Green shale."j 25 373 

Blue shale.J>(Kinderhook and Upper Devonian) 40 413 

Brown shale.J 120 533 

Gray lime cap rock (Devonian and Niagaran). 30 563 

Blue shale (Maquoketa). 27 590 

Gray shale showing streaks of sand shells (Maquoketa) .... 40 630 


Total depth. 630 


Eollowing this the Pea Ridge Oil Company drilled two wells ( in 
1915 and 1916) on the Thomas May farm in secs. 20 and 21, T. 1 N., 
R. 4 W. (Pea Ridge Twp.) The first was drilled in the N. 3 ^ SW. 1 /^ 
section 21 and penetrated two feet of good sand with a slight show of 
oil, but with much salt water. The second well was drilled about half a 
mile southwest of the first in the SE. % section 20 and penetrated 12 
feet of sand but was likewise dry. The logs of the two wells are as 
follows: 




















48 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Log of May well No. 1, N. i/o % sec. 21, T. 1 N., R. h W. (Pea Ridge Twp.) 


Elevation—620 feet 


(Pottsville) 


(St. Louis) 


Loam clay, soapstone. 

Coal (No. 2). 

Soapstone . 

Lime shale. 

Lime rock. 

Green shale.( 

Lime rock (Salem, Warsaw, Keokuk and Burlington). 

Green shale.j 

Brown shale.J>(Kinderhook and Upper Devonian) 

Light shale.j 

Lime rock (Devonian or Niagaran). 

Sand (Hoing) . 

Gray shale (Maquoketa). 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

14 

14 

2 

16 

9 

25 

14 

39 

5 

80 

36 

75 

290 

370 

140 

510 

15 

525 

25 

550 

10 

560 

2 

562 

20 Va 

5821/2 


Total depth . 582% 

Show of oil in the sand, but salt water rose 200 feet in the hole above the 
sand. 

Log of May well No. 2, 8E. % sec. 20, T. 1 N., R. k W. (Pea Ridge Twp.) ^ 

Elevation 635 feet 


Dirt and shale to 

coal. 




18 

18 

Coal streaked with 

shale 

(No. 2). 


8 

26 

Shale . 




.1 

12 

38 

Lime rock. 





2 

40 

Hard pan. 




.J 

7 

47 

Lime rock. 





3 

50 

Broken lime rock. 





8 

58 

Blue lime rock.... 





4 

62 

Broken lime rock. . 




(“First lime” St. 

8 

70 

Solid lime rock... 




Louis, Salem, Warsaw, 

20 

90 

Broken lime rock. 




. Keokuk, and Burling- 

20 

110 

Solid lime rock... 




ton formations) 

10 

120 

Broken lime rock. 





20 

140 

Solid lime rock. . 





70 

210 

Water-bearing lime rock. 



30 

240 

Solid lime rock... 





150 

390 

Shale with ore... 





3 

393 

Gray shale. 





57 

450 

Shale. 



(Kinderhook and Upper Devonian) 

90 

540 

Lighter shale. 





13 

553 

Lime rock (Devonian 

and Niagaran). 

22 

575 

Sand (Hoing) .... 





12 

587 


Total depth 


587 













































BROWN COUNTY 


49 


RECOMMENDATIONS 

Euture testing of the localities here mentioned should take into full 
account the factors previously described which govern the accumulation 
of oil. Since the oil sand is absent over large areas drilling must be 
more uncertain than is ordinarily the case, in spite of the existence of 
favorable geological structures. The shallow depth at which oil may be 
expected, however, makes drilling comparatively inexpensive and a dry 
hole does not mean such a loss as in the case of deep drilling. In gen¬ 
eral, prospecting should be carried out with the principles stated in the 
section on relation of structure to oil accumulation as a guide. 

1. Under ordinary circumstances the dome in secs. 20, 21, 27, 28, 
and 29, T. 1 N., R. 4 W. (Pea Ridge Twp.), would be recommended 
for thorough testing. However, both of the wells drilled by the Pea 
Ridge Oil and Gas Company lie on the structure. No. 2 coal lies 8 feet 
lower in well No. 1 than in well No. 2, but the elevation of the top of 
the oil sand is the same in the two wells. These wells show that the oil 
sand is thickening to the west and south. Since it contained only salt 
water, any accumulation of oil in the same sand body must lie up the 
dip. Unfortunately the field data is insufficient to show the structure 
to the west of these two wells. It is evident that if the coal rises higher 
it must be to the west or southwest, for it is dipping to the north, east, 
and south. The chances are good that a w^ell drilled half a mile to a mile 
southwest of Thomas May No. 2 would penetrate the sand well up the 
dip. 

2. A long terrace lies to the northeast of the May wells, in secs. 
11, 12, 13, and 14, T. 1 N., R. 4 W., (Pea Ridge Twp.) and secs. 5, 7, 8, 
and 18, T. 1 N., R. 3 W. (Missouri Twp.) It is unlikely that the sand 
body extends very far to the east of May No. 1 since it was there only 
two feet thick. A successful test on this terrace would depend upon the 
presence of a sand lens entirely separated from the one to the southwest, 
and lying at a lower elevation. If the generalization referred to in the 
section on the relation of structure to accumulation of oil can be relied 
upon, this terrace should be the logical place to expect to find such a lens. 
The best location for a test is probably in the east half of sec. 13, T. 1 N., 
R. 4 W. 

3. The dome covering parts of secs. I, 2, 11, and 12, T. 1 N., 
R. 3 W., extends east into Schuyler County where it has already been 
thoroughly tested by three wells of the Ohio Oil Company. No sand 
was found in any of the three wells, which therefore discredit the dome. 

4. There is an elevated area in the southern half of T. 1 S., R. 2 W. 
(Cooperstown Twp.), which can not be accurately outlined owing to 


50 OIL INVESTIGATIONS 

lack of data. The well drilled in 11)14 on the Parke farm is located about 
2 y 2 miles northeast of the highest part of this structure, as far as the 
available data indicates. Since the Parke well failed to hnd the sand, 
testing of this structure should remain until the more favorable areas 
have been prospected. I'he best location for such a test is in the NE. y 
sec. 33, T. 1 S., R. 2 W. 

5. Perhaps the most attractive-looking structure in the county is 
the broad terrace in T. 2 S., R. 3 W. (Elkhorn Twp.) There have 
been no wells drilled within 8 or 10 miles except the old well drilled 
40 or 50 years ago in section 24 or 25, and concerning which little is 
known. There is a large area over which the structure is favorable, and 
if it could be demonstrated that the oil sand is present, very thorough 
prospecting would be advisable. Since there is no information as to the 
distribution of the oil sand, the first test should be located on the highest 
point on the structure which is in the NE. 34 sec. 6, T. 2 S., R. 3 W. 
Another area almost as high crosses sections 7, 8, 9, 17, and 18. A test 
of this area might well be located in the S. ^ section 8 or the NW. ^ 
section 17. 

To the southeast of these two areas lies the main portion of the 
terrace about 20 feet lower, with its general surface at an elevation of 
(580 feet above sea level. In the SW. ^ section 13, however, it rises to 
an elevation of 59G feet, then dips rai)idly to the north and northeast. An 
initial test would best be located in the NW. 34 section 24 or the NE. 
section 23. If early tests on the higher portions of the structure prove 
unproductive, the broad portion of the terrace in sections 21, 22, 23, 24, 
25, 26, and 27 should be tested later. 

6. The highest structure in the county and for that reason one of 
the most favorable, is the anticline in the south half of T. 2 S., R. 4 W. 
(Buckhorn Twp.), and extending over the line into Pike County. Here 
No. 2 coal rises more than 50 feet in a distance of only about a mile. 
On the crest of the anticline it lies at an elevation of 653 feet and slopes 
off to 600 feet in about a mile to the west, to 590 in about 3^4 miles to the 
east, and to 590 in about 6 miles to the north, thus forming an anticlinal 
nose to the north. The dry hole drilled on the Sale Johnson farm in 1914 
lies almost at the bottom of a syncline, and is about three miles distant 
from the crest of the anticline. The extension of this structure to the 
south will no doubt be modified by further mapping, but it has been 
sufficiently outlined to make testing desirable. At present the best lo¬ 
cation for a test appears to be in the S. sec. 32, T. 2 S., R. 4 W. 
(Buckhorn Twp.), Brown County, or'the N. ^ sec.’5, T. 3 S., R. 4 W. 

(Pairmount 4wp.), Pike County, and further testing should probably 
extend to the northeast. 


GOODHOPE ANDI.AHARPE QUADRANGLES 

J5y Cleric L. Nebel 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 


Introduction. 51 

Acknowledgments. 52 

Strata outcropping at the surface. 52 

Strata penetrated in drilling. 53 

Possible oil-bearing horizons. 59 

Relation of accumulation to folds in the oil-bearing bed. 62 

Structure. 63 

General discussion. 63 

Detailed descriptions. 64 

Localities already tested. 66 

Gas in the glacial drift. 66 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATES 

II. Map of Goodhope quadrangle showing structural contours based 
upon the elevation of No. 2 coal (red) and upon the elevation 
of the Burlington limestone (black) above sea level. 62 

III. Map of La Harpe quadrangle showing structural contours based 
upon the elevation of No. 2 coal (red) and upon the elevation of 
the Burlington limestone (black) above sea level. 66 

FIGUKE 

15. Graphic section showing the succession of strata underlying Good- 

hope and La Harpe quadrangles. 54 


INTRODUCTION 

This report has been prepared in response to numerous requests 
for information concerning the structure of the area described in rela¬ 
tion to possible occurrences of oil or gas, and does not attempt to de¬ 
scribe the geology in detail. The latter information will be contained in 
a more complete report in the course of preparation which will be pub¬ 
lished later. The field work upon which both reports are based was done 
in the summer and fall months of 1917. 

Although a few wells have been drilled in the area in search for 
oil, it has by no means been thoroughly prospected. The oil sand from 
which it is most reasonable to expect to obtain oil, the Hoing sand of 
the Colmar field, is known to 1)e absent in certain parts of the Goodhope- 
La Har])e region, and it is probably present only as isolated lenses or 


(51) 

















52 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


sand bodies in scattered localities. The geologist can not predict the 
presence of this sand in advance of the drill, and the most that he at¬ 
tempts to do is to eliminate as much of the chance as possible by point¬ 
ing out areas in which the rocks are arched up into domes or anticlines. 
Here accumulation can take place if the oil sand and certain other con¬ 
ditions are present, and if water saturation is complete enough to hold 
the oil or gas in the upward folds. It would be wise to confine testing 
to areas in which favorable structures have been found, since the natural 
hazards of prospecting can in that way be reduced. Although no one 
can guarantee oil at a given location, nevertheless valuable services can 
be rendered by limiting exploration to small areas. 

Acknowledgments 

In his field work in the La Harpe quadrangle and a ])ortion of the 
Goodhope quadrangle the writer was assisted by Marvin Weller. An 
introduction to the geology of the region was given by T. E. Savage in 
a short reconnaissance trip. Information concerning coal and other 
strata penetrated by wells was freely furnished by most of the residents. 
The assistance of John \\\ Coghill, Jr., of Roseville, was especially val¬ 
uable in this connection. 


STRATA OUTCROPPING AT THE SURFACE 

In the Goodhope quadrangle only rocks of the Pennsylvanian 
(“Coal Measures’") system outcrop. In the La Harpe quadrangle both 
Pennsylvanian and the underlying Mississippian rocks are found. A 
composite section made up from a study of many outcrops, and showing 
the character and thickness of the various strata is as follows: 


Composite section of Pennsylvanian and Mississippian rocks in the Goodhope^ 

La Harpe region 


Thickness 


Character of strata Feet 

Pleistocene and Recent 

Sand, gravel, glacial till (boulder clay) and soil. 1 to 220 

Pennsylvanian system 
Carbondale formation 

Shale, limestone, and coal, to the base of No. 2 coal. 2 to 85 

Pottsville formation 


Shale, sandstone, limestone, and coal (including No. 1 coal).. 20 to 125 
Mississippian system 
St. Louis limestone 
Brecciated limestone and dolomite 


20 to 35 





GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


53 


Composite section of Pennsylvania and Mississippian rocks in the Goodhope- 

LaHarpe region—Concluded 


Thickness 

Feet 


Salem (Spergen) limestone 

Limestone and calcareous sandstone. 6 to 12 

Warsaw formation 

Shale and limestone... 30 to 40 

Keokuk limestone 

Limestone and chert; only a few feet exposed in the area; 

normal thickness . 50 to 100 

Burlington limestone 

Limestone and chert . 150 to 200 


Of the rocks shown in this section, the Burlington limestone out¬ 
crops only in the northern and western portions of the La Harpe quad¬ 
rangle, and the Keokuk limestone only at a few points in the western 
portion of the same c|uadrangle. Rocks of the Warsaw, Salem, and St. 
Louis formations outcrop only in the southwestern portion of the La 
Harpe quadrangle. Rocks of the Pottsville and Carbondale formations 
outcrop in the eastern half of the La Harpe quadrangle and at scattered 
localities throughout the Goodhope quadrangle. 


STRATA PENETRATED IN DRILLING 

The strata penetrated in drilling for oil include those known from 
outcrops, described above, and in addition other strata of the Missis- 
sippian system and shales, limestone, and dolomites of the Devonian and 
Silurian systems which lie above the horizon of the Hoing sand. Im¬ 
mediately below the Burlington limestone is a thick shale bed, known 
as the Kinderhook shale, which lies at the base of the jMississippian 
system. It varies in thickness from about 85 to 125 feet. Lying un- 
conformably below it is the Sweetland Creek shale of Upper Devonian 
age which varies in thickness from 100 to 150 feet. Below this is a gray, 
non-magnesian limestone of late Middle or Upper Devonian age, usually 
referred to as the Devonian limestone. It is not always possible in 
drilling to dstinguish it from the underlying Niagaran limestone, but it 
is known to have a thickness of about 40 to 80 feet or more. Lying 
unconformably below the Devonian limestone is a porous dolomite of 
Silurian age usually referred to simply as the Niagaran dolomite. A 
few wells have been drilled in which this dolomite proved to be entirely 
missing, but it is usually present in thicknesses varying from 8 or 10 feet 
to 80 feet or more. The Hoing sand, when present, lies just at the base 
of this dolomite. Deep wells which may be drilled to test the so-called 
“Trenton limestone” (Galena-Platteville) will pass through 180 to 200 






VERTICAL SCALE IN FEET 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


rO 


-100 


-200 


-300 


-500 


-400 


-600 


-700 


-800 


LEGEND 


O / - /o—/ 


Drift 


Sand 


Shale 




nr 




Limestune 








Sandy liniestone 


-900 


Chert 


-1000 


Coal 




r 


S 

Co 

I 




< 


> 


5' 

Co 

CO 


i. 

g 

§ 


Pleistocene 


Carbondale 


Pottsville 


St. Louis 


Salem 


Warsaw 


Keokuk 


Burlington 


Kinderhook 


> 


Sweetland Creek 


Devonian 


Ai o '--!-’0 
-•o'A!o.r 
0\—.N 

-N 

- 0 I 1 \ - 

> \ 0 Vy 


t> O I o 


Niagaran 
^Horizon of Hoing Sand 


I 


Maquoketa 


SE 


:..g'.g' 


g-r 


O O I o' o 




•° I ° I ar 


.il X 


jEE 


IT 


i 




m 


j-.: 1 ' 

o I o o 



Fig. 15. Graphic section showing the succession of strata 
underlying Goodhope and LaHarpe quadrangles. 


























































































































































































































GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


55 


feet of shale below the Niagaran. This is the Maqiioketa shale of the 
Ordovician system. 

The detailed succession of strata may be understood best by re¬ 
ferring to the accompanying graphic section (fig. 15) and the logs of 
wells drilled in the area which are given below. Two of these (Strong- 
hurst and Bushnell) are water wells and the other two were drilled in 
search of oil. 


Log of well in the town of Stronghurst in the SE. NW. 14 ^E. i/i. sec. 25, 

T. 9 N., R. 5 W., Henderson County 

(Interpreted from driller’s log by T. E. Savage) 


Altitude of surface—665 feet 


Quaternary 

Soil and drift. 

Kinderhook and Upper Devonian 

Shale, gray . 

Devonian and Silurian 
Limestone . 

Ordovician 

Maqiioketa 

Shale . 

Galena-Platteville 

Limestone, gray . 

Limestone, brown . 

Limestone, gray . 

St. Peter 

Sandstone . 

Shale, white . 

Prairie du Chien 

Limestone, white . 

Shale, white . 

Limestone, white . 

Sandstone, white . 

Limestone . 

Shale . 

Limestone . 

Sandstone . 

Limestone . 


Thickness 

Feet 

150 

165 

105 


165 


200 

15 

60 

171 

25 

10 

5 

24 
20 
50 

5 

105 

5 

25 


Depth 

Feet 

150 

315 

420 


585 


785 

800 

860 

1031 

1056 

1066 

1071 

1095 

1115 

1165 

1170 

1275 

1280 

1305 


Cambrian 

St. Croix or Potsdam 
Sandstone . 


296 


( 


1601 





















56 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Log of well in the city of Bushnell, near the center of sec. 33, T. 7 N., R. 1 W., 

McDonough County 

(Compiled from study of drill cuttings compared with driller’s log) 

Altitude of surface—651 feet 

Thickness Depth 
Feet Feet 

Quaternary 

Clay, yellow, and loam, black. 40 40 

Clay, blue . 60 100 

Sand, water . 10 HO 

Pennsylvanian 

Pottsville 

1. Shale, gray. 20(?) 130 

Mississippian and Upper Devonian 

Warsaw 

2. Shale, gray. 6(?) 136 

Keokuk-Burlington 

3. Limestone, white, fragments of chert numerous; frag¬ 

ment of crinoid stem noted. 50 186 

4. Same, with crystals of calcite. 66 252 

5. Limestone, white to light gray, cherty, with numer¬ 

ous crinoid stems and crystals of calcite. 78 320 

6. Same, with rounded quartz pebbles and basic igneous 

pebbles from the surface. 15 335 

7. Chert, white, with some limestone and calcite; crin¬ 

oid stem noted . 35 370 

Kinderhook and Devonian 

8. Shale, blue-green, fine texture, thin beds, with an 

occasional fragment of chert, pyritiferous. 39 409 

9. Same . 31 440 

10. Shale, dark brown, hard, thin bedded, micaceous, 

highly bituminous. When thoroughly ignited will 

burn . 170 610 

11. Shale, gray-green, fine texture, thin bedded, not cal¬ 

careous . 20 630 

Silurian 

Niagaran 

12. Limestone, gray, very argillaceous, soft, containing 

fragments of brachiopod shells. 20 650 

13. Limestone, gray, powdered by drill; slightly argil¬ 

laceous . 30 680 

14. Limestone, with a few fragments of gray-green shale; 

numerous crinoid stems. 15 695 

15. Limestone, like the last with some chert and iron 

rust; fragments of brachiopod shells noted. 15 710 

16. Dolomite, straw colored, finely crystalline with al¬ 

most an equal amount of minute fragments of 
white chert. Some steel gray shale, small crystals 
of pyrite, and an occasional quartz grain present 15 725 




















GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


57 


Log of well in the city of Ewshnell—Concluded 

Thickness Depth 
Feet Feet 

17. Dolomite, white, finely crystalline, powdered, with 

very fine fragments of white chert; few sand grains 7 732 

18. Sand, white, dolomitic, pyritiferous, sand g^rains 

slightly rounded, clear quartz, some shale present 8 740 

Ordovician 
Maquoketa 

19. Shale, grayish-green, fine texture. 7 747 

20. Shale, brownish-gray, with a small amount of gray, 

fine grained, dolomite . 38 785 

21. Shale, dark gray, fine grained, thin bedded, arena¬ 

ceous, with gray dolomite. 36 821 

22. Shale and dolomite, like the preceding. This sam¬ 

ple was labeled by the driller “888 to 892 notice in 
particular”. There is however, nothing exceptional 
about the sample. 71 892 

23. Sandstone, gray, argillaceous, dolomitic, very fine 

grained, some pieces of chert and coal. 11 903 

Galena-Platteville 

24. Dolomite, dark straw color, fine grained; powdered 

by drill. Very little reaction with cold dilute acid 

which becomes brisk when heated. 17 920 

25. Same . 63 983 

26. Same only somewhat lighter in color. 57 1040 

27. Same . 30 1070 

28. Same . 30 1100 

29. Dolomite, light brown, fine grained, with some very 

small bits of dark shale. 40 1140 

St. Peter 

30. Sandstone, white, with medium sized rounded, clear, 

quartz grains. Cement dolomitic. 160 1300 

31. Sandstone, fiesh color, very fine grained. Cement 

dolomitic . 50 1350 

Log of Parrish well in NW. 14 NW. % sec. S'l, T. 9 N., E. 3 TV.. (Ellison Twp.) 

Warren County 

Altitude of surface—752 feet 

Thickness Depth 
Feet Feet 

Quaternary 

Soil and clay (probably loess). 25 25 

Clay, blue . 

Shale or clay. 5 40 

Sand . 2 

Pennsylvanian 

Pottsville 

Shale . 28 70 




















58 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Log of Parrish well—Concluded 




Thickness 

Depth 



Feet 

Feet 



. 4 

74 

Sh a 1 o V»1 IIP ... 


. 36 

110 

T .iTnpstnnp . 


. 6 

116 

Shplp hinp . 


. 46 

162 

T.impstnnp . 


. 2 

164 

Shale . 


. 5 

169 

Mississippian 




Burlington 




Limestone . 


. 20 

189 

Shale . 


. 2 

191 

Limestone . 


. 131 

322 

Kinderhook 




Shale, light . 


. 118 

440 

Devonian 




Upper Devonian (Sweetland Creek) 




Shale, brown to black . 


. 10 

450 

Shale, drab with spores of Sporangites huronense 

105 

555 

Devonian and Silurian 




Limestone, gray, dolomitic . 


. 10 

565 

Limestone, gray, non-dolomitic . 


. 35 

600 

Limestone, dark . 


. 20 

620 

Dolomite, gray . 


. 42 

662 

Ordovician 




Maquoketa 




Shale, light .. 


. 12 

674 

Log of Goclienonr tcell near center NE. sec. 3, 

T. 6 

H., R. 5 W., (Fountain 

Green Twp.) Hancock County 



(Compiled from study of drill cuttings 

and 

driller’s log) 


Altitude of surface—660 

feet 





Thickness 

Depth 



Feet 

Feet 

Quaternary 




Soil, clay and gravel . 


. 30 

30 

Mississippian 




St. Louis, Salem, and Warsaw 




Limestone and shale . 


. 85 

115 

Keokuk and Burlington 




Limestone, leached, with chert fragments... 


. 45 

160 

Limestone, white, crystalline, with much chert 


. 90 

250 

Limestone, white, crystalline, with little chert 


. 75 

325 

Limestone, with some greenish shale. 


. 30 

355 

Kinderhook 




Shale, greenish to gray. 



400 

Shale, greenish to gray, crystalline. 



480 


























GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


59 


Log of Gochenouj' well—Concluded 

Devonian 

Upper Devonian (Sweetland Creek) 

Shale, greenish, with dark fragments, the latter contain¬ 


ing numerous spores of Sporangites huronense . 100 580 

Devonian and Silurian 

Dolomite and limestone, gray, subcrystalline, with pyrite 40 620 

Limestone, gray, with chert fragments, mostly fine grained 110 730 

Dolomite, gray to drab, with small quartz sand grains.. 15 745 

Ordovician 
Maquoketa 

Shale, bluish gray. 10 755 


POSSIBLE OIL-BEARING HORIZONS 

There are four possible oil-bearing horizons in the rocks under¬ 
lying the Goodhope-La Harpe region. These are, in order of depth, the 
Pottsville sandstone, the Niagaran dolomite (Silurian), the Hoing sand 
(at base of Niagaran), and the Galena-Platteville limestone or dolomite. 

Large quantities of oil have been produced from Pottsville sand¬ 
stones in the northern part of the main oil fields in the southeastern part 
of the State. There, however, the Pottsville formation is thick and con¬ 
tains thick sandstone beds which are persistent over comparatively large 
areas. In the Goodhope-La Harpe region thick sandstones in the Potts¬ 
ville are the exception rather than the rule. The thickest known is that 
which outcrops on Cedar Creek at the northeast corner of the Goodhope 
quadrangle, where it has a maximum thickness of about 30 feet. Thick¬ 
nesses of 50 to 75 feet are reported in some wells, but undoubtedly in¬ 
clude a considerable thickness of shale. There has been no production of 
oil from the Pottsville from western Illinois, but oil is reported to have 
been encountered in a few wells drilled into it in search for water. ^Ir. 
John Anderson states that a well was drilled on his farm near the NW. 
corner SW. sec. 12, T. 8 N. R. 2 W. (Swan Twp.), Warren County, 
in which a thick black oil was encountered in sandstone at a depth of 75 
or 80 feet (top of sandstone at 35 feet). A cpiantity estimated at several 
barrels is said to have flowed out of the well, but this was finally cased 
ofif, and fresh water struck at 90 feet. Two wells drilled in secs. 17 and 
18, T. 9 N., R. 3 W. (Ellison Twp.), Warren County, are said to have 
encountered oil at depths of 120 and 100 feet, respectively. However, 
no considerable production of oil is to be expected from the Pottsville 
sandstone in this region, owing to its shallow depth, its small lateral ex¬ 
tent, and the fact that it outcro])S at numerous places, both at the surface 
and under the glacial drift. Pottsville rocks underlie all of the Good- 
hope quadrangle and approximately the eastern half of the La Harpe 




60 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


({iiadrangle, but it is very unlikely that sandstones are present in the Potts- 
ville under all of this area. 

The Niagaran dolomite is very porous and frequently contains 
small quantities of gas and oil, but has never furnished oil in commercial 
quantities. Gas has been produced from the Niagaran in the Pike 
County field for many years, and small amounts of heavy, black oil have 
been reported in the same area. Throughout western Illinois gas is 
frequently encountered in wells which penetrate the Niagaran. In Hen¬ 
derson County, in the vicinity of Media, gas and showings of oil were 
encountered in several wells, although no production has been secured. 
A rather unusual feature of these wells is that the gas and oil seem to 
lie in the upper part of the “second lime”; that is, in the Devonian lime¬ 
stone, rather than the Niagaran dolomite. The data are insufficient to 
determine the horizon exactly, however. Neither the Devonian lime¬ 
stone nor the Niagaran dolomite are considered so promising for oil pro¬ 
duction as is the Hoing sand. 

The Hoing sand is not a continuous bed, but consists of isolated 
lenses of a porous, white sandstone which occur at the base of the 
Niagaran dolomite, and immediately overlying the Maquoketa shale. 
Prospecting for oil in this sand is therefore unusually hazardous, since 
the presence of the sand can not be predicted in advance of drilling. It 
is probably absent over a considerable portion of the Goodhope-La 
Harpe area, and a search for oil must therefore in large part consist in 
a search for bodies of the sand. There are only two localities in which 
the sand is known to occur. One of these is the vicinity of Bushnell in 
the southeastern portion of the Goodhope quadrangle. In the new city 
well there, drilled in 1915 the driller reported about 15 feet of sandstone 
at the base of the Niagaran dolomite. Samples of drill cuttings from 
the well were examined by members of the Survey staff and show that 
such a sandstone is present. The lower eight feet consists of white, 
quartz sand, and the seven feet above this contains a considerable pro¬ 
portion of sand. The second locality in which sand was reported at the 
base of the Niagaran is southeast of La Harpe in the southwestern por¬ 
tion of the La Harj^e quadrangle. Samples of the drill cuttings from a 
well drilled on the Gochenour farm in the NE. ^ sec. 3, T. 6 N., R. 5 W. 
(Fountain Green Twp.), Hancock County, were examined at the Sur¬ 
vey office, and it was found that the hasal 15 feet of the Niagaran 
dolomite contained a considerable amount of quartz sand grains. An¬ 
other well was drilled on the Gills farm in sec. 8, T. 6 N., R. 3 W. 
(Emmet Tw]).), and although no log of the well is available, Mr. Gills 
reports that about 20 feet of sand was found at the base of the Niagaran, 


GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


61 


with a showing of gas. It is impossible to state whether this was a clean 
quartz sand, or the ground-up bits of dolomite which are easily con¬ 
fused with the quartz sand. Another well in the SW. % NW. ^ sec. 
18, T. 6 N., R. 2 W. (Macomb Twp.), reported four feet of good sand 
with a showing of oil. 

Although a well may penetrate to the Maquoketa shale without 
finding the Hoing sand, it does not necessarily discredit the territory 
immediately surrounding it, for the known lenses of sand are small in 
areal extent and one of two adjoining wells may find a good sand and 
the other miss it entirely. There are numerous instances of this sort 
in the Colmar pool, where two or more separate lenses occur cutting 
across the Colmar dome and the Lamoine terrace.^ Therefore an area 
where the rock structure is favorable for the accumulation of oil or gas 
can not be thoroughly tested and condemned on the basis of absence of 
the sand in a single well. Sufficient drilling must be done to demonstrate 
the general absence of the sand throughout the favorable area before the 
structure can be said to be fairly tested. 

There are two possible oil-producing horizons below the Hoing 
sand, but neither is regarded as likely to be productive in this region. 
The first is the IMaquoketa shale, in which showings of oil have been 
reported in western Illinois. In the Indian Refining Company’s well on 
the Walker farm in sec. 9, T. 2 N., R. 2 W. (Buena Vista Twp.), 
Schuyler County, oil was reported at a depth of 751 feet, about 71- feet 
below the top of the Maquoketa, and several gallons are said to have 
been taken from the well. The second horizon below the Hoing sand 
which might prove productive is the Galena-Platteville limestone below 
the Maquoketa. This rock is frequently dolomitic and porous, and 
showings of oil have been reported from it. It occupies about the same 
position in the geological column as the so-called “Trenton” of south¬ 
eastern Illinois from which a small quantity of oil is being produced. 
The Trenton limestone of Ohio and Indiana has been the source of large 
quantities of oil. There is no assurance that this horizon will prove pro¬ 
ductive in western Illinois, but an occasional well should be drilled 
through it where the geologic structure is favorable, in order to test the 
region thoroughly. It is the oldest known rock in this area in which 
any oil may reasonably be expected, and since it can be reached at a 
depth of not over 1,000 feet, testing should be relatively simple and 
inexpensive. 

1 Kay, F. H., and Morse, W. C., The Colmar oil field: Ill. State Geol. Survey Bull. 
21, pp. 42-43. 



62 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


RELATION OF ACCUAIULATION TO FOLDS IN THE OIL- 

BFARING BED 

Thorough studies of oil and gas occurrence throughout the world 
have demonstrated beyond question the importance of rock structure in 
determining the accumulation of these substances. Although one can 
by no means state that all oil occurs in anticlines or domes, previous 
experience and careful studies of known oil pools in Illinois have shown 
that the proper conditions for accumulation in the area under discus¬ 
sion are most likely to be met with at the crests of folds such as anti¬ 
clines or domes, and that such places should be tested first in new ter¬ 
ritory. 

There are three principal conditions governing accumulation. They 
are as follows: 

1. The presence of a porous bed, such as a sandstone or cavernous 
limestone to serve as a reservoir. 

2. An impervious cover, such as shale or other fine grained rock 
to prevent the escape of the oil or gas. 

3. Folding in the rocks by which are produced dips along which 
the oil and gas can migrate and segregate into pools. 

The first condition may be met in this region by any one of the beds 
described above under the heading “Possible oil-bearing horizons.” The 
second is met by the Maquoketa shale lying above the Galena-Platteville 
limestone, the Kinderhook and Upper Devonian shales above the 
Niagara!! dolomite and the Hoing sand, and the Pennsylvanian shales 
above the Pottsville sandstone. The third condition, that of folding to 
produce favorable geological structure, is met at certain localities, and 
it is the purpose of this report to point out the areas in which favorable 
structures exist. 

The accumulation of oil in a given structure is to a considerable 
degree dependent upon the presence and amount of salt water in the 
sand. The productive oil fields of Illinois are in the main surrounded 
by barren areas in which the sand contains salt water. Where the sand 
is saturated, the oil lies near the crest of the anticlines or domes, with 
the gas, if aqy, above it (fig. 14 A). Where the sand is only partly 
saturated the oil lies farther down the sides of the folds, at the upper 
surface of the water, and the crests may be dry (fig. 14 B). A rather 
common mode of occurrence is on flattened terraces on the sides of a 
fold such as is shown in figure 14 B. If water is absent from the sand, 
the oil may occur in the troughs or synclines (fig. 14 C). This mode of 
occurence is comparatively rare and ])rospecting should be confined to 
the domes, anticlines and terraces, unless it is demonstrated that the sands 
contain no water. 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 40, PLATE II 


. — 

i.0 




.90 45’ ^ R.aw! tH»RAvto 1917 

^ W.H,Herron. Acting Chiof Geographer. 

Glenn S.Smith,Topographic Engineer in charge. 
Topography by C.WAGoodlove. 

■ C/l Control by E.L.McNair, C.B.Kendall,and R.G.Clinite. 

' Surv«y*d in 1916. 



Con'to'ur inteiTval 20 fee't. 

2>ait4rrv i» m«<m- 


A^MOXIMATC MCAN 
OCCUMATION,I»I« 


MAP OF GOODHOPE QUADRANGLE 

Showing structural contours based upon the elevation of No. 2 coal (red) and upon the elevation of the Burlington limestone (black) above sea level 

DESCRIPTION OF MAP 

The heavy black lines show the position of the base of the Burlington limestone above sea level, and are to be considered apart from the fine black lines which represent the surface of the region 

reader Is requested to imagine that the Burlington limestone and til the beds that overlie it are removed so that the upper surface of the underlying Klnderhook Is exposed, and that the area Is Invaded by a sea three num 
dred feet above present sea level. The 300-foot black contour line would be the shore line at this stage, but if the level of the sea would rise 50 feet the shore line would creep to the position of the 360-foot contour, and similarly 
with each 50 foot rise the shore line would advance to the next higher contour line. Thus the surface of the base of the Burlington or the top of the Klnderhook south and east of Stronghurst Is high and would remain aoove 
water until the water raised to almost 600 feet. The general dip of the beds Is toward the east and south, veering to west in the southwest part of the quadrangle. 

In a similar manner the red contour lines show the position of No. 2 coal above sea level and the reader may follow a method in picturing its surface similar to the method just described for the Burlington limestone. 

. V SPECIAL, NOTICE , , 

It is impossible to predict the presence of oil in any given area. The fact that the Holng oil sand is present at only comparatively few places adds an additional element of uncertainty in the western counties of Illinois 

Since in most fields the oil accumulates where the sand has been folded upward, and since the downward folds or synciines are usually filled with salt water, a map which shows the position of the beds previous to drilling is very 

valuable. The operator can then confine his tests to territory where accumulations would take place if the other conditions were favorable Thus one element of chance is eliminated. 







































































































































































































































































































































\ 




J/^OIOOJOHtO 3TAT8 





















































































GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


63 


STRUCTURE 
General Discussion 

The geologic structure of a given area can be determined best by a 
study of rock outcrops supplemented by information obtained from well 
logs. If a definite bed outcrops over large areas and can be readily 
identified and traced from place to place it is a comparatively simple 
matter to determine its altitude above sea level at numerous localities. 
If the same bed can be recognized in well logs, its altitude can be obtained 
over considerable areas in which it does not outcrop. In the Goodhope- 
La Harpe area No. 2 coal is just such a “key” bed. Its altitude has been 
determined at numerous points in the area which it underlies and 
structural contour maps have been prepared by drawing lines through 
points of equal elevation. (See Plates II and III, red contours.) If 
it can be assumed that the key bed lies parallel to the oil sands several 
hundred feet below, then the structure shown by that bed can be said 
to represent faithfully the structure of the oil sands. However, this is 
not strictly true for the area under consideration, as is shown by the fol¬ 
lowing discussion. 

The greater portion of the State of Illinois occu])ies a large struct¬ 
ural basin or syncline with its western border roughly parallel to the 
^Mississippi River.^ Superimposed upon this large synclinal structure 
are numerous small structures such as anticlines, domes, terraces, and 
synclines. Over this large basin structural disturbances took place in the 
intervals between the deposition of successive formations, and the beds 
now exposed at the surface do not necessarily show structure parallel to 
that of the underlying rocks. This is best brought out by a study of some 
deeply buried bed or horizon which can be recognized in well logs. In 
the Goodhope-La Harpe area the most satisfactory horizon for this pur¬ 
pose is the base of the Burlington limestone. Accordingly the altitude of 
this key horizon was determined wherever wells could be found which 
penetrated deeply enough, and structural contour maps were constructed 
just as in the case of the coal. The only difference is that the points 
are fewer and are more widely scattered, so that the structure is neces¬ 
sarily generalized, and small details are not shown. This structure is 
shown by black contours on the maps (Plates H and HI). 

A careful study of the two sets of contours demonstrates the lack of 
parrallclism between the two key horizons. They both have the same 
general direction of dip, namely, to the east and south toward the center 
of the large Illinois basin, but the Burlington limestone dips much more 


lA Geologic Map of Illinois: State Geol. Survey, 1917. 



64 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Steeply. At a point near the center of the west edge of the Goodhope 
quadrangle the base of the Burlington limestone lies at an elevation 
of about 500 feet, while near the center of the east edge of the same 
quadrangle, 12 miles away, it has an elevation of only 235 feet. The 
decrease amounts to 205 feet, or 22 feet per mile, while the elevation 
of No. 2 coal decreases only about 87 feet in the same distance, or 7^4 
feet per mile. In the La Harpe quadrangle the elevation of the base 
of the Burlington limestone decreases 170 feet from the central to the 
southern portion, while the elevation of No. 2 coal decreases only 71 
feet in the same distance. 

The ideal key horizon to determine structure which may be used in 
prospecting for oil is the upper surface of the oil sand itself. Lacking 
sufficient data concerning the sand, the next best key horizon is that 
approaching nearest to the oil sand in depth. In the Goodhope-La 
Harpe area this is the base of the Burlington limestone, and the struct¬ 
ure shown by this horizon should be considered first in selecting loca¬ 
tions for drilling. This may be supplemented by testing the structures 
shown by the coal if the divergence between the two horizons is taken 
into account. The effect of this divergence as the depth increases is to 
displace the apex of the structure in the direction in which the interval 
between the beds is increasing. Therefore a test well in order to 
strike the oil sand at the apex of a dome must not be drilled at the apex 
indicated by the coal structure, but to one side or the other. The proper 
place to test the structures shown by the coal in this area is pointed 
out in the description of individual structures which follows. 

Detailed Descriptions 

The principal structural feature shown by the contours on the base 
of the Burlington limestone is a dome covering a large area in the north 
half of the La Llarpe Quadrangle. The apex lies near Stronghurst, 
where the Burlington rises to an altitude of 603 feet. To the west it 
appears to have a steep dip to an elevation of 390 feet, but this is based 
upon the log of one well in the SW. ^ of sec. 28, T. 9 N., R. 5 W. 
(Stronghurst Twp.), which passed through limestone from 90 to 250 
feet. If this is the Burlington limestone, as the driller called it, its base 
lies at an elevation of about 390 feet. To the south of Stronghurst the 
limestone dips off fairly uniformly to an elevation of 300 feet south of 
La Harpe. To the east it has a gentle dip across the La Harpe quad¬ 
rangle, which becomes steeper from west to east across the Goodhope 
quadrangle and reaches a minimum elevation of 235 feet in sec. 22, 
T. 8 N., R. 1 W. (Greenbush Twp.) To the north of Stronghurst the 


GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


65 


dome is incompletely defined. There is a dip of over 50 feet per mile 
to the northeast toward Media. 

There is an area of 100 to 150 square miles lying on the gentle 
east and southeast slope of the dome in which there have been no 
wells drilled deep enough to test out the horizon of the Hoing sand. 
If the sand is present in any portion of this area the geological conditions 
are favorable for the accumulation of oil, but the presence or absence 
of the sand can be demonstrated only by drilling. The first tests should 
be drilled well up on the structure, within the area bounded by the 550- 
foot contour line; that is, in secs. 31 and 32, T. 9 N., R. 4 W. (Strong- 
hurst Twp.), in secs. 25, 26, 35, 36, T. 9 N., R. 5 W. (Stronghurst 
Twp.), and in secs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, T. 8 N., R. 4 W. (Raritan Twp.) 
Further drilling should be extended to the area included within the 500- 
foot contour line, in which case it would seem advisable to locate the 
first test in sec. 33, T. 8 N., R. 3 W. Good Hope quadrangle. 

The principal structural features brought out by the contours on 
No. 2 coal include two small domes. West of Roseville in T. 9 N., R. 3 W. 
(Ellison Twp.), is an incompletely defined dome on which the coal 
rises to an elevation of 736 feet, which is about 30 feet higher than to 
the south and east. The Parrish well in the northwest quarter of sec¬ 
tion 34 was drilled down on the flank of the dome where the coal is 
about 25 feet lower than at the apex. It failed to find any Hoing sand, 
and it might be said to discredit the area in the immediate vicinity so far 
as the presence of the sand is concerned. It does not discredit the 
structure, however, since the distribution of the sand is so erratic. 

A small dome lies just east of Roseville in sections 28, 29, 32, and 
33. In section 28 the coal rises 20 feet higher than to the west, 30 'feet 
higher than to the south, and 50 feet higher than to the east and north. 

A pronounced terrace extends to the south from the above men¬ 
tioned dome. It covers portions of secs. 9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 30, 
and 36, T. 8 N., R. 2 W. (Swan Twp.), where the coal lies at an ele¬ 
vation of about 680 feet, but rises to 693 feet in section 10. To the 
north and west the coal rises slightly, to the east it dips to an elevation 
of 620 feet, while to the south it slopes ofif very gently. 

Six miles northwest of Bushnell there is a small dome in which the 
coal rises more than 20 feet above the adjacent region. Since it is in¬ 
completely defined, no recommendations can be accurately made; how¬ 
ever. a test in the southeast part of sec. 16, T. 7 N., R. 2 W. (Walnut 
the oil may occur in the troughs or synclines (fig. 14 C). This mode of 
Grove Twp.), can be suggested. 


66 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


In the southwestern portion of the Goodhope quadrangle is a l)road 
terrace upon which No. 2 coal lies at an elevation of about 680 feet. 

LOCALITIES ALREADY TESTED 

Live wells have been drilled within the borders of each of the two 
quadrangles in search of oil or gas. In the Goodhope quadrangle, the 
most favorably located well, so far as structue goes, was the Parrish 
well in sec. 34, T. 9 N., R. 3 \V. (Ellison Twp.) This well failed to And 
the Hoing sand. Its relation to structure is discussed in the descrip¬ 
tion of the dome west of Roseville. 

A well drilled on the (ieorge Sailor farm in the NE. ^4 sec. 21, 
T. 8 N., R. 1 W. (Greenbush Twp.), is located in a syncline and found 
no sand. 

A well drilled on the Matt Roden farm in the NW. 34 sec. 15, T. 
7 N., R. 2 W. (Walnut Grove Twp.), is located upon the southern end 
of a gently sloping terrace. It likewise found no sand. 

Two wells were drilled on the Bruinga and Lester farms in secs. 
7 and 18, T. 6 N., R. 2 W. (Macomb Twp.) The logs of these wells 
are somewhat indefinite, but it a])pears that the well in section 18 lies 
on a small dome. Four feet of sand was reported at the base of the 
second lime, with a small showing of oil. The well in section 7 found 
no sand. 

In the La llarpe quadrangle none of the five wells drilled is re¬ 
garded as being favorably located. No data are available concerning the 
well one and one-half miles southwest of Sciota, except that it was a 
dry hole. Of the four remaining wells, two, the Herzog in the NE. 34 
sec. 30, T. 7 N., R. 4 W. (Blandinsville Twp.), and the Wilkes in the 
SW. 34 sec. 25, T. 7 N., R. 5 W. (La Harpe Twp.), found no sand nor 
any show of oil. Of the other two the Gills in the NW. 34 sec. 8, T. 6 
N., R. 5 W. (Fountain Green Twp.), is reported to have found 20 feet 
of sand with a showing of gas. This information has not been verified, 
and no log of the well is available. The Gochenour well in the NE.34 
sec. 3, T. 6 N., R. 5 W. (Fountain Green Twp.), found a showing of 
sand at the base of the second lime but no oil or gas. 

GAS IN THE GLACIAL DRIFT 

Small quantities of gas are frequently encountered in pockets of 
sand in the glacial drift. In a water well in the SW. 34 sec. 9, T. 8 N., 
R. 2 W. (Swan Twp.), gas rises in bubbles through the water in such 
quantities that when a pipe was inserted through the well platform. 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 40, PLATE III 



Topography 
Control by E.L.McNair) C.B.Kendall, 
R.G Chnite.and S.R Arxiher 
Surveyed in 1916 • 


Conto'ur 20 feet.. 

Datitrrx. is msan ssa. Isvisl 


OeCLI NATION, 


MAP OF LA HARPE QUADRANGLE 

Showing structural contour's based upon the elevation of No. 2 coal (red) and upon the elevation of the Burlington limestone (black) above sea level 

DESCRIPTION OF MAP 

The heavy black lines show the position of the base of the Burlington limestone above sea level, and are to be considered apart from the fine black lines which represent the surface of the region 

The reader is requested to Imagine that the Burington limestone and all the beds that overlie it are removed so that the upper surface of the underlying Kinderhook is exposed, and that the area is invaded by a sea three hun¬ 
dred feet above present sea level. Tbe 300-foot black contour line would be the shore line at this stage, but if the level of the sea would rise 60 feet the shore line would creep to the position of the 350-foot contour, and similarly with 
each 50 foot rise the shore line would advance to the next higher contour line. Thus the surface of the top of the Kinderhook (or base of the Burlington) is high underlying section 33 of Point Pleasant Township and would remain 
above water until the water raised to almost 550 feet. The general dip of the beds is to the east. 

In a similar manner the red contour lines show the position of No 2 coal above sea level and the reader may follow a method in picturing its surface similar to the method Just described for the Burlington limestone. 

SPECIAL NOTICE 

It is Impossible to predict the presence of oil in any given area. The fact that the Holng oil sand is present at only a comparatively few places adds an additional element of uncertainty in the western counties of Illinois. 
Since in most fields the oil accumulates where the sand has been folded upward, and since the downward folds or synclines are usually filled with salt water, a map which shows the position of the beds previous to drilling is very 
valuable. The operator can then confine his tests to territory where accumulations would take place if the other conditions were favorable. Thus one element of chance is eliminated. 
























































































































































































































































































































































































YEVHUa JA JIOOJOaO -ITAT^ 2IOKIJJI 


w a 


‘oo*ie 
^rr i" ^ 

^v.v|'-ne.T 





M R 

































































GOODHOPE AND LA HARPE QUADRANGLES 


67 


the gas could be ignited with a match and burned freely. Small quanti¬ 
ties of gas have been reported in a number of other shallow water wells. 
In all cases of this sort the gas was probably derived from the decom- 
])Osition of vegetable matter buried in the glacial drift and no consider¬ 
able quantities are to be expected. This gas has no connection with 
the accumulation of oil or gas in the underlying rock strata and shovdd 
not be confused with true oil seeps or gas escapages from solid rocks. 
It gives no indication whatever of the presence of oil or gas in the 
deeper strata. 



PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 

Uy II orace Noble Coryell 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction. 70 

Acknowledgments. 71 

Personnel of the party. 71 

Topography of the area.. 71 

Method of field work. 72 

Key horizons. 72 

Relation of folds to accumulation of oil. 73 

The Hoing sand. 73 

Structure of the area. 74 

Synclines. 74 

Anticlines and terraces. 74 

Pittsfield-Hadley anticline. 75 

Method of study. 75 

Description of the structure. 81 

Development. 82 

The gas rock. 83 

Notes on wells in the columnar section sheet. 83 

Structures favorable for testing. 84 

Flowing water wells. 86 

Stratigraphy. 86 

General statement. 86 

Unconsolidated rocks. 86 

Alluvium. 86 

Loess. 86 

Drift. 87 

Consolidated rocks. 87 

Generalized section. 87 

Pennsylvanian system. 89 

Carbondale formation. 89 

Pottsville formation. 91 

Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity. 92 

Mississippian system. 92 

St. Louis limestone. 92 

Salem limestone. 93 

Warsaw-Salem unconformity. 93 

Warsaw formation. ... ‘. 93 

Keokuk limestone. 94 

Burlington limestone. 94 


(69) 









































70 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


PAGE 

Kinderhook group. ^5 

Devonian system. 95 

Upper Devonian shale. 95 

Silurian system. 95 

Niagaran limestone. 95 

Ordovician system. 95 

Maquoketa shale. 95 

Kimmswick-Plattin limestone. 95 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATES 

IV. Map showing the structure of central and northern Pike County. 72 

V. Map showing the structure of southeastern Adams County. 74 

VI. Map of the crest of the Pittsfield-Hadley anticline and colum¬ 
nar sections of the wells in the area. 80 

Map of the areal geology of central and northern Pike County. 84 


VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 


Map of the areal geology of southeastern Adams County. 

(A-A)) 

Structure sections in southeastern Adams County. 

(C-C) ) 

(D D) ^ Structure sections in Central and Northern Pike County.. 

FIGURES 

16. Diagrammatic illustration of conditions favorable to artesian wells. 

17. Diagrammatic cross-section showing the upper coal bed (key 

horizon No. 7) and Colchester (No. 2) coal (key horizon No. 3).. 


r 


88 


94 


7. 


TABLE 

Summary of well data in central Pike County. 


85 


90 


76 


INTRODUCTION 

During the summer of 1918 a study of the structure of the north¬ 
ern and central parts of Pike County and the southeastern ])art of Adams 
County was made by the State Geological Survey in search of new areas 
favorable to the accumulation of oil. Figure 1 shows the area covered 
by this report. 

The Colmar oil field on the north and the Pike County gas field on 
the south suggest that the intermediate area, which has similar geolo¬ 
gical conditions, may prove productive. The area is partly covered by 
this report, together with the companion paper on Brown County, and 
the previous one for Schuyler County.^ 

Favorable structures for testing are described in the following 
pages, as indicated in the outline, and the uncertainties resulting from 
the irregular distribution of oil-bearing sands and other conditions are 
discussed. A brief description of the general geology of the region is 
also ])resented in the text and illustrations. 


1 Morse, W. C., and Kay, Fred H., Area south of the Colmar oil field: Ill. State 
Geol. Survey Bull. 31, 1915. 





















PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 


71 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

M. L. Nebel was in general supervision of the work for the early 
period, and introduced the writer to the geology of the region. Stuart 
Weller assisted in the identifications and correlations of the rocks. The 
reports of oil investigations in western Illinois hy other memhers of the 
Survey were consulted in the study of the Hoing sand. Messrs. Jerry 
Mink, Earl Efarris, and Claude Shinn kindly furnished the records of 
numerous wells drilled in central Pike County. 

PERSONNEL OE THE PARTY 

'Idle party in immediate charge of the writer included M. C. Win- 
okur, as levelman throughout the season, and Marvin Weller for a short 
period near the close. (Others employed as rodmen for variable ])eriods 
were: Charles Aiken, George E. Baldwin, Milton Chestnut, Yirgil 
Llarte, George Holmes, Erank T. Orndorff, Llarry Ramsey, Otis Shake, 
George Stauffer, Virgil Tooley, H. E. Van Natta, and Ered Wright. 

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE AREA 

Plate IV is a map of the coal and gas fields in the northern and 
central parts of Pike County. This area lies upon the divide between 
the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The western ])art is drained by Six 
Mile, Kiser, and Hadley creeks into the Mississippi, and the eastern part 
hy Bay, Blue, and ^McGees creeks into the Illinois. The upland is hilly, 
except near Maysville and New Salem. The flood plains are narrow, 
and are dissected in many ])laces hy the winding stream channels. The 
soil and weathered rock on the slopes of the valleys, eroded into the 
shales of the Pennsylvanian (“Coal Measures”), creeps and slumps rap¬ 
idly and covers the consolidated rocks in the beds of the streams. For¬ 
tunately, the coal (Colchester) is exposed in numerous pits and banks 
that have been worked recently. 

Plate V is a ma]) of southeastern Adams County. Only the area 
south of the “Base Line” was covered by the geological survey, but in 
order to show the location of the district in reference to the railroads, 
the map was extended two miles farther north to include Clayton, Camp 
Point, and Coatsburg. 

The belt of level upland which crosses the area near Beverly and 
Liberty forms the divide between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. 
The southwest slope is drained by McCraney Creek into the ^Mississippi, 
and the northeast slo])e by McGees Creek and its tributaries into the Illi¬ 
nois. The ui)land north and northwest of Kellerville is a flat prairie 


72 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


lying on the divide between McGees Creek and Bear Creek drainage 
systems. There are very few exposures of the consolidated rocks in 
the level areas, and only a small number of farm wells pass through 
beds that can be identified from the available information. The study 
of the structure of the key beds is approximately limited to the stream val¬ 
leys where the contacts between the formations are exposed, and where 
numerous wells and pits pass through the coal bed. 

METHOD OF FIELD WORK 

The outcrops of the consolidated rocks were studied, and those 
that could be identified were located by pacing and compass, and described 
with considerable detail in reference to characteristic features represented 
on the postal road map which was used for a base. The map served 
later to guide the leveling party. 

The top of the Colchester (No. 2) coal was chosen as the principal 
key horizon for the entire area, except in the Pike County gas field, 
where the top of the gas rock was used as the datum plane (Plate IV). 
Contours and cross-sections show the “lay” or structure of the key rocks. 
The structure, represented by contours on the coal, differs somewhat 
from the structure of the deeper beds at the horizon of the Hoing sand 
in the Colmar field, since the St. Louis, Salem, Warsaw, and Keokuk, 
which are present in the northern part of the area, are absent in the 
southern part (Plates VII and VIII). The lack of parallelism between 
the coal and the deeper beds is discussed on the later pages, but is not 
great enough to interfere seriously with conclusions drawn from study 
of the “coal contours”. The intervals between the coal, as the principal 
key bed, and the other formations upon which points were located were 
measured wherever possible. The elevations of these points were re¬ 
duced or increased to the elevation of the top of the coal at each point 
by subtracting or adding the stratigraphic distance, as determined in the 
nearest measured section. The observed and the computed elevations of 
the top of the coal were plotted on the maps (Plates IV and V). Con¬ 
tours were drawn through points of equal elevations and show graphically 
the downfolds (synclines) and up folds (anticlines) of the principal key 
bed, which appears as No. 3 in the following list of key horizons. 

KEY HORIZONS 

The following list gives the key horizons and the stratigraphic dis¬ 
tance to the top of the Colchester (or No. 2) coal. 

7. Top of the upper coal bed, 75 to 80 feet above the Colchester 

coal. 

6. Bottom of second nodular limestone 63 to 72 feet above the Col¬ 
chester coal. 


T 4 S 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

LEGEND 

Outside of Stippled Boundary 

X Outcrop of key horizon No. 3 
64 3 Elevation of No.2 coal 

^ Dry hole 

603 Computed elevation of No. 2 coal 
-(V Dry hole 

2 24 (o)Elevation of gas sand 

6 60 oomputed elevation of No. 2 coal 
“^Contours show elevation of 

Within Stippled Boundary 

^ Gas producing well 
476 Computed elevation of top of gas sand 

Q Dry hole gas test 
472 Computed elevation of top of gas sand 

A Water well 

414 Computed elevation of top of gas sand 

_(V Dry hole oil test 
410 Computed elevation of top of gas sand 

X Outcrop of No. 2 coal 
467 Computed elevation of top of gas sand 


BULLPUTN NO. 40, PLATE IV 


-County line 

-U. S. Township line 

• Town 

County seat 



Map 


showing the structure of central and northern Pike County 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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♦’1 




















































































PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES- 


73 


5. Top of the Productus and Chonetes bed, 10 to 15 feet above the 
Colchester coal. 

4. Top of septarian concretion layer, 6 to 8 feet above the Colches¬ 
ter coal. 

3. Top of the Colchester coal (principal key horizon). 

2. Top of the Salem limestone, 24 to 57 feet below the Colchester 

coal. 

1. Top of the gas rock 293 to 298 feet below the Colchester coal 
and used as the key bed in the area within the stippled boundary (Plate 
IV). 


RELATION OF FOLDS TO ACCUMULATION OF OIL 

In most of the productive fields of Illinois oil occurs in the upper 
part of anticlines domes, and terraces. The localization of the oil ac¬ 
cumulations within these upfolds depends upon the extent of the sand 
body and the amount of salt water present. Where the oil sand extends 
over the anticline, and an abundance of salt water exists, the oil and gas 
occur in the positions shown in figure 14 A. With a less amount of salt 
water to buoy up the oil, the accumulation takes place farther down the 
slope of the anticline, localizing in the terraces (figure 14 B). If salt 
water is absent and the sand is not saturated with oil, the oil pools occur 
in the synclines (figure 14 C). 

In western Illinois the sand contains considerable quantities of salt 
water; the domes and terraces are discovered by geologic work, but the 
distribution of the sand can not be determined in advance of the drill. 

THE HOING SAND 

Oil was discovered in 1914 near Colmar on the farm of J. Hoing. 
The producing sand was described as the Hoing sand. Numerous wells 
were drilled in this locality, in some of which the sand is present and in 
others absent. The well records show that the Hoing sand is distributed 
in isolated lenses varying from a few feet up to 30 feet in thickness, and 
that it lies between the Maquoketa shale and the “second lime” of the 
drillers. The name has been mistakenly extended to include the produc¬ 
ing and non-producing sands in Schuyler County that lie immediately 
below the “second lime.” The variability in thickness and distribution 
is ])robably due to the limitation of deposition of the sand to shallow 
disconnected depressions in the surface of the Alaquoketa shale and to 
subsequent erosion. 

The shale beneath and the Niagaran limestone above prevent the 
migration of the oil and gas from one sand body to another. Each de¬ 
posit of sand is a unit within itself, in reference to the accumulation and 


74 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


differentiation of the gas, oil, and salt water. A well on the crest of an 
anticline would test a lens of the sand if one were present, but it would 
not adecpiately test the entire fold. Wells drilled into lenses on terraces 
that lie below the crest of the anticline are known to be productive in 
the Colmar field, while the deposits of sand higher on the fold yield only 
salt water.^ 

STRUCTURE OF THE AREA 

The beds have a general dip eastward which is interrupted by 
numerous undulations—synclines, anticlines, and terraces. 

Synclines 

In sec. 28, T. 3 S., R. 6 W. (Richfield Twp., Plate V), is a small 
basin in which the Colchester coal is 20 feet lower than in the adjacent 
area and has a thickness of 8 feet. Either this depression was jirobably 
a peat swamp for a longer time during the Carbondale ejioch than the 
surrounding region, or the accumulation of the plant material was more 
rapid. The difference in elevation may he due in part to the difference in 
degree of compressibility of the thick plant deposit and the surrounding 
sediment. 

In the small syncline in the west half of sec. 8, T. 3 S., R. 6 \V. 
(Richfield Twp., Plate V), the thickness of the coal was 3 feet. The 
Colchester coal was 11 feet thick in a small depression near the center 
of sec. 10, T. 4 S., R. 3 W. (Hadley Twp., Plate IV). Several years ago 
it was mined and used by the ^^^abash Railroal. 

Near the center of T. 3 S., R. 6 W. (Richfield Twp., Idate V), is 
a large syncline (Plate IX B-B) which would probably be found to ex¬ 
tend to the northeast corner of the township and then northwest to Lib¬ 
erty if the structure were completely defined. The flowing well on the 
farm of Luther Rice is located in the western part of the syncline, X"W. 
34 sec. 17, T. 3 S., R. G W., (Richfield Twp., Plate V). In the eastern 
half of T. 2 S., R. 5 W., (McKee Twp., Plate V), is a broad shallow 
syncline which has an area of approximately nine square miles. 

Anticlines and Terraces 

In secs. 3, 4, 5, G, 0, 10, 11, 14, and 15, T. 3 S., R. 5 W. (Beverly 
Tw])., Plate V), is an anticline which extends in a northeast-southwest 
direction. The north limb is slightly depressed in sections 11 and 4. A 
“nose” extends northward from section 5 and develops into a terrace 

^ Morse, W. C., and Kay, Fred H., The Colmar oil field—a restudy: Ill. State 
Geol. Survey Hull. 31, p. 4 3, 1015. 



T3S T2S 


ILLINOIS SI ATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

R6 W 


BULLETIN NO. 40. PLATE V 


1 

1 


25 

30 

29 

C A 


—J , 

— 1 ” 





28 

A 1 



^ 33 


7 / - -- 


‘ - -■ 



R6 W 



LEGEND 

-County line 

_U. S. Tov/nship line 

Town 

© Outcrop of key horizon No. 7 
es3 Computed elevation of No. 2 coal 

^ Outcrop of key horizon No. 5 
<6 2 0 Computed elevation of No. 2 coal 

^ Outcrop of key horizon No 6 
6 37 Computed elevation of No. 2 coal 

^ Outcrop of key horizon No. 4 
63 G Computed elevation of No. 2 coal 

Outcrop of key horizon No. 3 
610 Elevation of No.2 coal 

(o) Outcrop of key horizon No. 2 
6 2 6 Computed elevation of No. 2 coal 

-Q-'^ontours show elevation of 
-6-^ No.2 coal above sea level 

_A Dry hole 

Computed elevation of No. 2 coal 
Water well 

6^4 Computed elevation of No 2 coal 


Map showing the structure of southeastern Adams County 


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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PARIES OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 


75 


two miles wide, which lies in secs. 20, 21, 27, 28, and 29, T. 2 S., R. 5 
W. (JMcKee Iwp.) The coal in the terrace is 30 feet lower than on the 
crest of the anticline. Ihe west and south slopes of the anticline are 
not completely defined; but the information available shows that the 
coal dips at a low angle into the Richfield syncline on the w’est, and into 
the narrow basin near Beverly on the south. 

A narrow terrace lies in secs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, T. 2 S., R. 5 W. ( Mc¬ 
Kee Tw]).), and secs. 1, 2, 11, and 12, T. 2 S., R. 6 W. (Liberty Twp., 
Plate V). It is approximately four miles long and three-quarters of 
a mile wide. Ihe fold becomes much broader toward the west, and 
may develop into a more favorable structure for oil accumulation under 
the drainage divide in Liberty Township. 

There are numerous small anticlines and terraces in T. 3 S., R. 6 W. 
(Richfield Township, IMate V), iu which the Colchester coal rises only 
10 feet or less above the coal l)ed in the nearby region. I'hey are inter¬ 
esting for study but unimportant in relation to oil accumulations. 

North of Fish Llook, in secs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, T. 3 S., R. 4 W. (Fair- 
mount Twp., Plate IV), occurs a narrow terrace in a splendid location 
to serve as a collecting area for the long slope that extends for several 
miles into Brown County. It lies upon the eastern slope of the anticline 
in T. 3 S., R. 5 W. (Beverly Twp., Plate V). 

Two miles north of Hadley (Plate IV) is located an incompletely 
defined terrace which ])robahly connects with the terrace in sec. 36, T. 
3 S., R. 6 W. (Richfield Twp., Plate V). 

Pittsfield-Hadley Anticline^ 

METHOD OF STUDY 

From the owner of each gas well were secured the data given in 
the “Summary of well data of central Pike County”, (Table 7), and 
from the drillers were obtained the well logs. The top of the gas rock 
was chosen as the datum horizon upon which to base the graphic repre¬ 
sentation of the structure of the region. The surface elevation of each 
well, as determined hy the leveling party, was reduced to the elevation 
of the top of the gas rock by subtracting the interval from the surface 
to the gas-producing bed, as given in the log. Since there is an interval 
between the gas rock and the key bed (Colchester coal) used outside of 
the gas area of from 293 to 298 feet, the contours near the border of 
the gas area, which pass through elevations computed from the elevation 
of the coal, will not coincide vertically at the stippled boundary with the 
contours of the coal. This is noticeal)le in secs. 35 and 36, T. 4 S., 
R. 5 W. (Hadley Twp.). 


^Area enclosed by stippled boundary, Plate IV. 



Taelk 7. —Well data in ceritral Pike County 


76 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


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PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 


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Table 7. —Well data in ceiitral Pike County—Concluded 


80 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


X 

d 

B 

IV 


C 

o 


o 

O 


QO 

S 


4-1 

5 


mclap 


c3 
> 
a; 

I s 


S'BS 

ClOJ, 


^4 ^ 


o 

V 

;3. 

o 

Ul 


SuiiTup 

JO 


V 


■ON ’JOH 


V 

C 

if 

O 


o 

4-> 

rt 

o 

o 


'+-< 

c 


rJ 


'Ji 


•Das 


X. 

C 

o 

t- 


u 




)h 

U 

d 

'iH 

ci 


a 

o 


C 

o 

X 

rt 

5 

o 


—-r 

a 

:/} 


b 1^ 

di-i 

^ •• 

xc/} 

.S«o 


i-l 

4) 

d 

if 


d 

4> 

if 


Ui 

o 


41 

3 

'o oj X 
1 ) OJ 
X ? !h 

b) a 


O CO 
-r CO 


4r 

05 


^ . 

X • 

(J_X 

’C ^ 

Sw 

w 


i-l 

o 

S5 

'CO 


X 

4), 




i'ci 

-d d 


ct3 

Gas. 

Fine 

4> 41 



a a 


0 

• X • • 

• d 

• <+-1 

: 0 

: bo 2 2 

: if 

2 4) 2 2 


O >1 >, 

^ rt.ti 1-1 V4 

O! Cia QQ 


S 'TJ O — 

cc CO o: 


s 


Ot (M — (M — 
lO •-t' •*»* 

I- I- ^ 




3 

3 


0 

>1 

3 

ti3 

3 

, 

41 

l~s 



• »0 X o 

’S ass 


3-^ 


3 

3.3 

a '-I 

^ 3 

•<3 ^ 


3 

3 

6 

3’ 

3 

5 

C/2 


3 

o 

o 

a 


-w 

bTa-^; 

'J'.Z'X 


05 — 




X 


c/2 

CD 


3 PH rt 


• •ao^ 
3^®^3 

X 3' X 

b S S 
3 4-13 a 
•3 3 £^-3 
3 d pi<^ 3 
<3 


^4 

-•It 



























































































VEHTICAL SCALE IN FEET T 5 S 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

R5 W 


R3 W 


r soo 


81 


75 


86 


16 17 


24 19 


34 


33 31 


32 


26 


28 


40 


41 


27 


60 


44 


47 


58 


BULLETIN NO. 40, PLATE VI 



LEGEND 


"Gontours show elevation of 
gas rock above sea level 

86 Reference number 
• Gas well 

615 Computed elevation of 
top of gas rock 


800—1 



800- 


• 700 • 


600- 


600—' 



Map of the crest of the Pittsfield-Hadley anticline and columnar sections of the wells In the area 





















































































































































































































































































YaVHU2 JAOIDOwlOaO 3TAT2 2IOVIUJI 



artoJesmU nsiBQfiiH 



ooe-* 



i 


i 





















































PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 


81 


DESCRIPTION OF THE STRUCTURE 

1 he results of the work show that in Derry and Pittsfield townships 
the strata are folded into a conspicuous anticline. The axis extends 
from the SW. cor. of sec. 21, T. 4 S., R. 5 W. (Hadley Twp.), to the 
SE. cor. of sec. 22, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Twp.) The crest is 
divided into four separate dome-like structures by three saddles, one 
in secs. 1 and 2, T. 5 S., R. 5 VV. (Derry Twp.), another in secs. 17 and 
18, and a third in secs. 17 and 20, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Twp.). 
The structure section (Plate IX, C-C) shows three of the domes and two 
of the synclines that lie upon the anticline. The crest of the dome farth¬ 
est to the southeast is in the SE. ^4 sec. 16 and NE. pj sec. 21, T. o S., 
R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Tw]).). Two of the strongest gas wells in the area are 
located on this dome. The gas rock is 667 feet above sea level in the well 
in section 21 (No. 41 )h Toward the north the gas-producing bed dips 
220 feet to the mile, and to the south 100 feet to the mile. The eastward 
dip is 180 feet for the first mile and 40 feet for the second. In the wells 
in the city of Pittsfield, 3 miles from the top of the dome, the gas rock 
is 410 feet above sea level. One mile west of the crest of the dome the 
gas rock lies in the bottom of one of the saddles where its elevation is 596 
feet. One-fourth mile farther west in secs. 17, 18, and 20, T. 5 S., 
R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Twp.), the gas rock has an elevation of 614 feet. The 
crest of this low dome lies in the SW. ^4 section 17, the SE. pj section 
18, and the NW. p^ section 20. The southwest dip is 70 feet in the first 
mile but decreases to 25 feet in the second, forming a terrace in section 
25, T. 5 S., R. 5 W. (Derry Twp.), which is less than one-half mile 
wide. The only producing well in the southern half of Derry Township 
is located on this terrace. 

The gas sand in the syncline between the dome in sec. 17 and the 

one in sec. 7, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Twp.), is 555 feet above sea 

level. This is 55 feet lower than it is in either dome. 

From the crest of the dome in the center of section 7, the gas rock 
dips 70 feet in the first quarter of a mile, and 30 feet in the second, 
toward the north. The non-productive area is only a mile from the crest 
of the dome in this direction. On the south slope where the dip is 60 
feet to the mile, the productive area is much liroader. The dip of the 
gas rock from section 7, toward the northwest along the crest of the 

anticline, is 40 feet to the mile. In the center of sec. 2, T. 5 S., R. 5 W. 

(Derry Twp), the elevation is 557 feet above sea level. From the center 
of the NE. Pi sec. 2, T. 5 S., R. 5 W. (Derry Twp.), to the center of the 
south line of sec. 35, T. 4 S., R. 5 W., (Hadley Twp.), the gas sand 


1 Well numbers refer to the reference numbers in Table 7. 



82 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


rises 31 feet, but the information is not sufficient to deteiinine the struc¬ 
ture of the dome in detail. 

Two and one-fourth miles west of Summer Hill is an incompletely 
defined structure which is probably a low dome. The gas sand in the 
productive well in sec. 10, T. 6 S., R. 5 W., (Atlas Twp.) is only 40 feet 
above the lowest known elevation of the sand in the syncline near New 
Hartford. 

DEVELOPMENT 

Gas was first discovered in Pike County in 1886, on the farm of 
Jacob Irick (F. G. Lewis, present owner), in sec. 1, T. 5 S., R. 5 W. 
(Derry Twp.), while drilling for water. The gas rock was entered at 
the depth of 186 feet. The well (No. 78) was cased and the gas was 
piped to the house, for which it has furnished an abundant supply since 
that time. Soon after the completion of the first well, a second one (No. 
79) drilled for water on the same farm, “struck” gas at the depth of 
168 feet. 

No further attempt was made to develop the field until 1905, when 
William Irick put down a well (No. 78) on his farm in the SW 
sec. 1, T. 5 S., R. 5W. (Derry Twp.), and piped gas from it to the farm 
buildings for heat and light. 

During 1905 and 1906 two drillers, J. A. Clark and Jerry Mink, 
were constantly employed by the landowners who began to realize the 
advantage of the use of gas. Thirty wells were drilled in Derry and 
Pittsfield townships by June, 1906, six of them dry. Since then develop¬ 
ments have progressed much more slowly. Of the few wells drilled 
each summer, some furnished abundant supplies of gas. By the close 
of the summer of 1912, one hundred wells had been drilled, thirty-nine 
of whTh are now non-productive. The wells drilled since that time were 
oil tests, promoted either by a corporation or by a group of enterprising 
landowners. 

The initial pressure of the gas wells was not taken, but in almost 
every case the supply was more than was needed by the owner. It 
was noticed that the pressure was decreasing only when the demands 
exceeded the supply. In 1918 only those wells inclosed by the 590-foot 
contour (Plate IV) had sufficient gas supply for all seasons of the year. 
They are on the domes that lie on the anticlines. Between the 590-foot 
contour and the 500-foot contour the supply of gas is sufficient only for 
cooking and lights. A few wells near the 500-foot contour furnish 
enough gas for no more than one or two lights. The wells outside of the 
500-foot contour are either non-productive or furnish such a meager 
supply of gas that they can be used only a few hours each day. On the 
southwest limb of the anticline in sec. 24, T. 5 S., R. 5 W. (Derry Twp.^ 


PARTS OP PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES. 83 

is a well (No. 87) that was productive until 1917. It lies upon the anti¬ 
cline above the 520-foot contour. Two wells in sec. 13, T. 5 S., R. 5 W., 
(Derry Twp.) are non-productive and lie between the 530-foot and 5-10- 
foot contours. In sec. 35, T. 4 S., R. 5 W. (Hadley Twp.), the well 
(No. 9) shown on the top of the dome is non-productive because of de¬ 
fects in casing". The field has been thoroug’hly exploited. The produc¬ 
tive area is bounded on all sides by dry wells, and it is decreasing in 
size from year to year by failure of some of the wells that are near the 
margin. 


THE GAS ROCK 

The porous stratum forming the reservoir for the gas is a yellowish- 
brown dolomite, probably belonging to the Niagaran. Whenever the 
stratum was entered by the drill at an elevation above 500 feet, the well 
initially furnished an adequate supply of gas for farm use. This would 
indicate that the porous bed is present everywhere upon the anticline. 
The limestone above the gas rock, locally designated as the cap rock is 
only a few feet in thickness in most of the wells, and is overlain by the 
Kinderhook shale, which forms the impervious cover of the reservoir. 
The gas has very little odor and burns without smoke, giving a strong, 
bright flame. The following analysis is given by Professor T. E. Savage, 
who made an examination for the Geological Survey in 1906.^ 

Per cent 


Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). ,81 

Oxygen (O,). 3.46 

Marsh gas (CH 4 ). 73.81 

Nitrogen (N) . 21.92 


Total . 100.00 


NOTES ON WELLS IN THE COLUMNAR SECTION SHEET (PLATE VI) 

The accompanying areal map of the crest of the Pittsfield-Hadley 
anticline gives the location of twenty-one wells which were chosen to 
show graphically the stratigraphic sequence of the region, the thickness 
of the formations and the variations in the elevation of the gas rock upon 
the fold. 

No. 58 is far down the slope of the southeast end of the anticline. 
The pressure was initially very weak, and the well is now abandoned. 

No. 47 furnishes gas for one light. 

No. 44 is one of the deepest wells in the area. It was drilled 18 
feet into the gas rock. 

1 Savage, T. E., Pike County Gas Field: Ill. State Geol. Survey Bull. 2, pp. 77-87, 
1906. 









84 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Nos. 41 and 27 are on top of the dome in section 16. Ihey have 
furnished an abundance of gas since 1906. 

Nos. 60, 26, 31, 32, and 40 are on the slope of the dome in sections 
16, 17, and 21, but are well up on the crest of the anticline. They supply 
the farms on which they are located with sufficient fuel for light and 
heat. 

No. 33 is a good well, located on a small dome in section 17. It 
was drilled during the spring of 1906. 

The pressure in No. 24 has noticeably decreased. The supply is 
not sufficient for heat during the winter months. It is located in the 
bottom of the saddle that crosses the anticline in sections 17 and 18. 

No. 17 is 76 feet deep. It is one of the shallowest and strongest 
wells in the area. It is located upon the top of the dome in section 7 
and in the valley of a branch of Kiser Creek. 

Nos. 16, 19, and 86 are good producing wells, located on the slope 
of the dome in section 7. 

No. 75 is supplying gas for only one light. 

No. 81 has a good pressure of gas, but it is not being used. 

No. 9 was reported by Jerry Alink to contain considerable gas 
which was shut off by a strong flow of water. 

Sl'RUCTURES FAVORAP.LE FOR TESTING 

The anticline in the northern half of T. 3 S., R. 5 W. (Beverly 
Twp., Plate \^), is new territory for exploration for oil. Locations favor¬ 
able for tests of the structure are chosen with reference to the structural 
conditions only. The sand in vSchuyler County has been shown to be in 
disconnected lenses, and that characteristic may be true for this area 
A well in the NE. sec. 5, T. 3 S., R. 5 W. (Beverly Twp.), would 
test the northwest end of the fold. The Hoing sand, which is the pro¬ 
ductive formation in the Colmar field, would be entered at the depth of 
550 feet. To make the test complete, the drill should enter the Kimms- 
wick-Plattin limestone which lies approximately 700 feet below the sur- 
fac. The succession of strata that would be encountered is: Carbondale 
formation (shale), Pottsville formation (shale and sandstone), Salem 
limestone, Warsaw limestone, Keokuk limestone, Burlington limestone, 
Kinderhook group (shale). Upper Devonian shale, Niagaran limestone, 
Alaquoketa shale, and Kimmswick-Plattin limestone. 

The south^iW"portion of the fold can be tested by drilling a well 
in sec. 10, T. 3 S., R. 5 W. (Beverly Iwp.), preferably in the north 
half of the section. The depths to the Hoing sand horizon and the 
Kimmswick-Plattin limestone would be approximately as given in the 
above test. 


T 4 S 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULI.KTIN NO. 4o, PLATE VII 


54 W 


~~ County line 
■ — U S. Township line 
Town 

County seat 





___ nf central and northern Pike County 




























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Y21VMU< 1/ )l« > .H'7 


j 


OV\303-V 


f 

T^_-- 

n'lc f -i- -^v* 


1 

n'^'tS-':jiUw'ciiioS 

■ 

f 

3nO;3^' *i*: d 1 

' 

1 

no'' 

t 

Oi 


r 

1 

5. Ol, )iuMo«)< 

it j 

^ u H 




eaotSBmil Ao3fcfii'T>n; 

- Tv-r^ 

1-^ ^ vx' j 

J • 

»* 

quoiQ ilC'o ii>i 

k 

T.y 

fy 


«so)kt»« ic nodacoJ 



3 ^ T 








































































PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 


85 


In T. 3 S., R. 4 \\\ (Fainnount Twp., Plate IV^), is a narrow ter¬ 
race with a long northeast slope. Wells drilled near the north)fifcf 
corner of section 8 would test the top of the structure. The Hoing 
sand horizon would be entered at the depth of 490 feet and the Kiinms- 
wick-Plattin limestone at the depth of 680 feet. If it is found that the 
sand at the horizon of the Hoing sand in Schuyler and McDonough 
counties is in lenses, then other tests farther down the dip of the bed 
would be recommended. 

The dome in the center of sec. 7, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsheld Twp., 
Plate IV), is prohal)ly the best location in the gas area. A well 
drilled in this area would pass through the following beds before the 
Kimmswick-Plattin limestone is reached: Upper Devonian shale, 
Niagaran limestone, and ]\laquoketa shale. The total depth of the test 
would be approximately 260 feet. The McSorley gas well (Xo. 17) 
enters the Hoing sand horizon at the depth of 76 feet. No sand was 
reported. 



Fig. 16. Diagrammatic illustration of conditions favorable to artesian wells. 


The dome in the SW. >4 sec. 17, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Twp., 
Plate IV), would .be tested by a well drilled in the south half of the 
quarter section. The succession of beds is the same as that above, 
with the addition of the Kinderhook shale, which lies upon the Upper 
Devonian shale. The test would enter the Kimmswick-Plattin lime¬ 
stone at the depth of 450 feet. 

The dome in the NE. ^ sec. 21, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Twp.), 
has probably been tested by the deep well in the NW. 34 of section 
21, hut since the gas rock is 30 feet lower in the test well than on the 
crest of the dome, which is one-half mile east, it is recommended that 
another well he drilled in the NE. 34 of section 21, in order to test the 
fold completely. The Kimmswick-Plattin lies approximately 400 feet 


below the surface. 

The terrace extending southwest from the anticline in section 21 
can be tested by wells in the south half of sec. 19, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. 
(Pittsfield Twp.), and sec. 25, T. 5 S., R. 5 W. (Derry Tw,..) The 
Kimmswick-Plattin limestone would be entered at the approximate 


depth of 420 feet. 
















































86 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


FLOWING WATER WELLS 

Flowing water wells depend on certain relations of rock structure, 
water supply, and elevation (dg. IG). A flowing well is possible in 
any place underlain by a bed of i)orous rock of considerable thickness 
beneath an impervious layer, if the porous bed outcrops over a rather 
wide stretch of territory in a region of higher elevation and adequate 
rainfall. The structure section (Plate IX, A-A) through the basin in 
which the Luther Rice flowing well is located, shows a part of these 
conditions. In this well the Niagaran limestone forms the porous 
water-hearing stratum beneatli the impervious Kinderhook shale. The 
Niagaran beds outcrop near Mississippi River several miles to the 
southwest, and receive their supply of water from the rains in that 
region. 

STRATIGRAPHY 
Gener.-xl Statement 

The rocks of the area consist of unconsolidated and consolidated 
types. The unconsolidated are alluvium, loess, and drift; the consoli¬ 
dated, shales, sandstones, coals, and limestones. 

Unconsolidated Rocks 

ALLUVIUM 

The alluvium occurs in stream valleys. It consists of glacial till, 
loess, and residual clay, reworked by running water. The sand con¬ 
stituent is high, and the amount of humus low. The thickness varies 
from a few feet to twenty or more. 

LOESS 

Covering the glacial drift in many places is a dust-like deposit 
known as loess. The similarity of its mineral composition to that of 
glacial drift may indicate that it is drift, reworked by water and wind. 
The history of its transformation into loess begins with transportation 
of drift material beyond the edge of the ice sheet by the streams flow¬ 
ing from the glacier, and its dejiosition upon the flood plains. After the 
retreat of the glacier the streams decreased in size, and the flood 
plains became dry, permitting the fine material to he picked up by the 
wind and deposited over the uplands. Its greatest. thickness in this 
area varies from a few feet to 10 feet. 

DRIFT 

fl'he heterogeneous deposit of clay, gravel, and boulders, which lies 
beneath the loess is known as drift and belongs to the Illinoian period 


PARTS OP PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 87 

of glaciation. Ihe thickness varies from a few feet on the nj)land to 
30 or more feet in the valleys of the pre-lllinoian land surface. It is 
present e\erywhere in the area except where streams have removed it 
and have cut their valleys deep into the consolidated rocks. The rock 
fragments in the drift consist of many kinds picked up by the ice sheet 
from the various deposits over which it passed. 

In places extensive pockets of sand were deposited by the melting 
ice as in the SW. sec. 29, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsfield Twp.), where 
a sand lens has a thickness of 28 feet. Lenses of gravel outcrop in 
many of the valley slopes, as in the NW. ^ sec. 27, T. 1 S., R. 6 W. 
(Columbus Twp.) Masses of coal are found mingled with the clay, 
sand, and gravel of the drift, in sec. 29, T. 4 S., R. 3 W. (Griggsville 
Twp.). The predominance of shale particles and limestone fragments 
everywhere in the drift gives evidence that the major portion of the de¬ 
posit has been derived from the shales and limestones in the adjacent 
region. 


Consolidated Rocks 


GENERALIZED SECTION 

Key heel numbers refer to the 'list of key horizons given on a previous 

page Thickness 

Pennsylvanian system Feet inches 

Carbondale formation 

37. Shales, light blue, sandy, in layers varying in thick¬ 
ness from 1/4 inch to 2 inches, and separated by 
thin seams of sand. The lower 6 to 8 inches con¬ 
sists of black shale. 30 

36. Coal, in lenses (key bed No. 7). 1 4 

35. Shale; the upper 4 feet is bluish, streaked with 
ferrous oxide, and contains many stringers of 
coal. The lower 8 feet is blue, soft clay shale 12 
34. Limestone, dark gray, nodular, crystalline (key 

bed No. 6) . 3 6 

33. Shale, light blue, micaceous, sandy, in thin beds.. 53 

32. Limestone, bluish, shaly, fossiliferous. Produetus 
and Chonetes shells are abundant (key bed No. 

5) . 3 

31. Shale, light blue, sandy, containing many small 

nodules of limestone. 4 

30. Limestone, a band of large septarian concretions of 
dense bluish limestone, the crack filled with cal- 

cite crystals (key bed No. 4).. 3 

29. Shale, blue, sandy, with seams of pyrite. 4 

28. Shale, fissile, black. .. 10 

27. Coal, Colchester (No. 2) (key bed No. 3). 1 6 











88 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Consolidated Rocks—Continued Thickness 

Feet inches 

Pottsville formation 

26. Shale, bluish, sandy. 24 

25. Limestone, dolomitic, crystalline, brown. 1 3 

24. Shale, bluish, sandy, interbedded with thin beds of 

sandstone . 5 6 

Mississippian system 
St. Louis limestone 

23. Limestone, bluish gray, brecciated, dense. 3 

22. Limestone, thin bedded, gray, crystalline. 1 6 

21. Shale, light green. . . 6 

20. Limestone, dolomitic, brown, crystalline. 4 6 

19. Shale, greenish . 4 

18. Limestone, brecciated, dense, bluish. 6 

17. Shale, green . . . 

16. Limestone, bluish gray, shaly, dense. 8 

15. Shale, light green. .. y* 

Salem limestone 

14. Limestone, fossiliferous, dove colored, containing 
numerous protozoans (top of formation is key 

bed No. 2). 10 

13. Limestone, shaly . 17 

12. Limestone, brown, dolomitic. 14 

Warsaw formation 

11. Shale, soft, interbedded with thin layers of fossilif¬ 
erous limestone. Bryozoans are abundant. 28 

10. Limestone, dolomitic, interbedded with shale. 21 

Keokuk limestone 

9. Limestone, thinbedded, interbedded with layers of 
chert and shale, having a thickness varying from 
1 to 4 inches. Limestone contains many frag¬ 
ments of crinoids and bryozoans. Brachiopods 

are abundant . 24 

Burlington limestone 

8. Limestone, interbedded with thin layers of chert. 

The limestone contains abundant plates and seg¬ 
ments of crinoids. 86 

Kinderhook group 

7. Shale, light blue, compact, with lenses of sand¬ 
stone and thin beds of limestone. 122 

Devonian system 
Upper Devonian shale 

6. Shale, brown, calcareous. 60 

Silurian system 
Niagaran limestone 

5. Limestone, dolomitic, gray, hard, dense (“cap 

rock” of the drillers). 14 

4. Limestone, porous, dolomitic (gas rock, key hori¬ 
zon No. 1) 24 

























r 2 S 1 s TIN 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICx^L SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 40, PLATE VIII 



0_ 1 2 3 


LEGEND 

-— County line 

_U. S, Township line 

Town 



Carbondale formation 
Pottsville formation 

St. Louis limestone 

Salem limestone 



Warsaw formation 



SI 


Keokuk limestone 
Burlington limestone 



Outcrop of upper coal 


Location of structure section 


Map of the areal geology of southeastern Adams County 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 
Consolidated Rocks—Concluded 


89 


Ordovician 

Maquoketa shale 

3. Shale, greenish blue, with limestone beds near the 

base . 

Kimmswick-Plattin limestone 

2. Limestone, dolomitic, white and gray. 

St. Peter sandstone 

1. Sandstone, hard, gray, and brown (Total thickness 
in the area is unknown. Well No. 113 enters the 
formation to the depth of 95 feet 6 inches). 

PENNSYLVANIAN SYSTEM 
CAKBONDALE F0B:MATI0X 

The Caibondale formation includes all the beds lying between the 
top of No. 6 coal and the base of No. .2 coal. Only the lower part of 
the foimation occurs in this area. Ihe upper beds were not deposited 
01 were removed during the period of erosion that followed the depo¬ 
sition of the Pennsylvanian rocks in western Illinois, and preceded the 
advance of the Illinoian ice sheet. The greatest thickness of the Car- 
bondale formation is in the northern part of the area in Adams County 
(Plate Vni). In the wells near Clayton, it has a thickness of 150 
feet. In T. 3 S., R. G W. (Richfield Tw]).), it has the average thick¬ 
ness of 115 feet. On the north limb of the Pittsfield-Hadley anticline 
(Plate IV) four miles south of Baylis, the total thickness of the Car- 
bondale is only five feet. 

The highest beds of the formation in this area are exposed in the 
stream valleys near Columbus and Camp Point, and on the highest hills 
in T. 3 S., R. 5 and G W., ( Beverly and Richfield townships, Plate VIII), 
for example in the SW. % sec. 27 of Richfield Township. They consist 
of light blue, sandy shales in layers varying in thickness from one-half 
inch to two inches, and are separated by thin seams of sand. Thirty 
feet is the greatest thickness exposed in a single section. 

Beneath this shale and seventy-five feet above the base of the Car- 
bondale formation is a bed of coal consisting of numerous small lenses 
varying in thickness from a few inches to several feet (figure 11) and 
overlain by G to 8 inches of black shale similar to that above Colchester 
(No. 2) coal. The underclay is bluish, streaked with yellow, and con¬ 
tains many thin scams of coal. Lenses of the coal bed in secs. 10, 14, 
22, 21, and 25, 4'. 3 S., R. G W., have been mined by stri})ping. The 
coal stratum has been traced only in T. 3 S., R. G W. (Richfield Twp.) 

Below this lies a 12-foot bed of soft, blue, calcareous shale. Near 
the base many small nodular masses of limestone occur. 


Thickness 
Feet inches 

166 

295 





90 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


The bed of limestone beneath the shale is a brown nodular forma¬ 
tion showing an average thickness of three feet, and carrying a high 
percentage of clay. The best ex])osures are in secs. 14, 22, and 24, T. 2 S., 
R. G \V. (Liberty Twp., LMate VIII), and secs. 19 and 31, 1. 2 S., 
R. 5 W. (McKee Twp., Idate VIII). 

Near the center of sec. 31, T. 2 S., R. 5 W. (McKee Iwp., Plate 
VUI), is a splendid outcrop of the thick deposit of shale which underlies 
the nodular limestone. It is a light-blue, micaceous, sandy shale, in lay¬ 
ers varying from a fraction of an inch to 4 or more inches, which are 
separated by sandy seams. The formation weathers rapidly, and talus 
debris covers the bases of all the bluffs in which it is exposed. The 
maximum thickness measured is 53 feet. 



Fig. 17. Diagrammatic cross section showing the upper coal bed (key horizon 
No. 7) in lenses at 725 feet and Colchester (No. 2) coal (key horizon 
No. 3) just below 650 feet above sea level. The location of this sec¬ 
tion is shown as E-E on Plate VIII. 

A very persistent, im])ure, fossiliferous limestone lies beneath the 
thick shale deposit and 10 to 15 feet above the Colchester coal. The 
fossils are principally Prodiictidae shells. It has a thickness of 3 inches in 
the section along the stream in the west half of sec. 8, T. 3 S., R. 6 W. 
(Richfield Twp., Plate VUI). 

Four feet of light-blue, sandy shale lies between the fossiliferous 
bed and the horizon of the septarian concretions. The shale contains 
many small concretion-like nodules, arranged parallel to the stratification. 

The septarian concretions resemble crushed spheres of dark-blue 
limestone, with the cracks formed by the stress filled with crystals of 
calcite. They lie in a band 6 to 8 feet above the top of the Colchester 
coal. 

The next 7 feet of shale below the concretions is a dark-blue, car¬ 
bonaceous deposit, containing many seams of pyrite. 

Between the bed of shale above and the Colchester coal beneath is a 
bed of black fissile shale with an average thickness of 10 inches. 












































































































PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES- 


91 


The Colchester coal and the black shale immediately above are in 
a few places the only representatives of the Carbondale formation, as in 

sec. 22, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. (Pittsheld Twp., Plate Vll). In most of the 

pits, banks, tunnels, and exposures in the bluffs of the streams, the 

thickness of the coal varies from 18 to 24 inches. In sec. 28, T. 3 S., 

R. 6 W. (Richfield Twp., Plate VIII), and sec. 10, T. 4 S., R. 5 W. 
( Hadley Twp., Plate VII), the coal has a thickness varying from 8 to 11 
feet. 


POTTSVII.LE FORMATION 

The Pottsville formation underlies the Colchester (No. 2) coal 
conformably. Its thickness varies from 30 to 40 feet in T. 1 S., Rs. 5 
and G W. (Concord and Columbus Twps., Plate VUI), to a few feet 
in T. o S., R. 4 W. (Iffttsffeld Twp., Plate VII). The following is a 
section measured on the bluff of a stream, in the SE. cor, N\\ . sec. 
5, T. 3 S., R. 4 W. (Fairmount lEvp., Plate Vll). 

Section of strata northioest of Chestline 

Feet Inches 

Carbondale 

3. Colchester coal . 1 ^ 

Pottsville 

2. Shale, yellowish, sandy. 4 

1. Shale, bluish green, sandy. 

Base not exposed. 

A section measured in the NW. cor. SE. NE. ^4 sec. 33, T. 2 S., 
R. 5 W. (McKee Twp., Plate VII), is as follows; 

Section of strata northeast of Fair Weather 

Feet Inches 

Carbondale 

1 2 

4, Colchester coal ... 

Pottsville 

3. Shale, bluish . 

1 3 

2. Limestone, brown . ^ 

1. Shale, bluish, sandy. ^ ^ 

Salem limestone. Base not exposed. 

The variation in thickness is probably due to the irregularities of the 

surface upon which the Pottsville was deposited. 

The rocks of the Pennsylvanian system lie immediately lieneath the 
drift over 78 square miles in the central and northwestern part of the 
area in Pike County, and over almost all the area in Adams County repre¬ 
sented by Plate Vfll, except along the southwest border and in the val¬ 
leys of the larger streams. Outliers of the Pennsylvanian sediments 
lie upon the limbs of the anticline in the gas area, between Pittsfield and 

Hadley (Plate VII). 









92 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


MISSISSIPPIAN-PENNSYLVANIAN UNCONFORMITY 

After the deposition of the St. Louis limestone, western Illinois was 
drained of its sea and remained land until the invasion of the Ste. 
Genevieve sea, which extended up the IMississippi valley into Iowa. The 
invasions of the Chester sea did not extend so far north, and probably 
did not cover Pike and Adams counties in Illinois. During the long 
period that intervened between the retreat of the Ste. Genevieve sea and 
the deposition of the Pottsville sediments, the area described in this 
paper was above the sea and subjected to the agencies of erosion. The 
St. Genevieve formation was eroded completely from the area, and the 
St. Louis and Salem formations were removed from much of the area 
south of their present boundaries (Plates VII and VIII). 

MISSISSIPPIAN SYSTEM 

The Chester group and the Ste. Genevieve limestone are absent. 
The rocks of the Meramec, Osage, and the Kinderhook groups outcrop 
in the area. The Meramec group includes the Salem and St. Louis lime¬ 
stones. The Osage group includes the Warsaw formation, the Keokuk 
limestone, and the Burlington limestone. No attempt was made to dif¬ 
ferentiate the members of the Kinderhook group. 

ST. LOUIS LIMESTONE 

The St. Louis limestone is the surface formation over approxi¬ 
mately 16 square miles in the valleys of McGees, McCraney, and ]\Iill 
creeks (Plate VIII). Along McGees Creek the formation disappears 
near Hazelwood, and the overlying Pennsylvanian shale is in contact 
with the Salem limestone (Plate IX, B-B). In the valley of AlcCraney 
Creek the St. Louis extends much farther south. The best exposures 
of the formation are along this creek in secs. 4, 9, and 17, T. 3 S., R. 6 W. 
(Richfield Twp., Plate VIII). The St. Louis is essentially a brecciated, 
bluish-gray limestone, very brittle and compact. The angular fragments 
vary in size from minute particles to masses several feet in diameter. Be¬ 
tween the strata of limestone are seams and beds of greenish clay. The 
formation has an average thickness of 20 feet along McCraney Creek. 
The thickness increases down the dip, and from the well of Russel Davis 
in sec. 25, T. 1 N., R. 5 W. (Clayton Twp.), 150 feet of St. Louis is 
reported. Fossils are very rare in the limestone layers except locally, 
where numerous masses of Lithostrotion occur. Many of these fossils 
were weathered out of the limestone before the deposition of the Potts¬ 
ville and have become imbedded in the base of that formation as in sec. 
5, T. 2 S., R. 5 W. (McKee Twp., Idate VIII). 

The following is a section of the St. Louis measured from a bluff 
near the stream in the NW. cor. sec. 5, T. 2 S., R. 5 W. 


PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 93 

Section of strata northwest of Hazelwood 


Feet Inches 

Recent 

11. Soil . 2 

St. Louis 

10. Limestone, bluish gray, brecciated, dense. 3 

9. Limestone, thin bedded, gray, crystalline. 1 6 

8. Shale, light, green. .. 6 

7. Limestone, dolomitic, brown, crystalline. 4 6 

6. Shale, greenish . 4 

5. Limestone, bluish, brecciated, dense. 6 

4. Shale, green . . . 

3. Limestone, bluish gray, shaly, dense. 8 

2. Shale, light green. .. 

Salem 

1. Limestone, dolomitic, massive, brown crystalline. 

Base covered . 5 


SALEM LIMESTONE 

The Salem limestone lies unconformably below the St. Louis lime¬ 
stone. It outcrops in the valleys of INIcCraney and INIcGees creeks, and 
in the eastern part of T. 3 S., R. 4 W. (Fairmount Twp., Plate VII). 
It overlaps the \\'arsaw and Keokuk and in central Pike County (Plate 
VII) lies upon the Burlington limestone. The lower beds of the Salem 
formation, which are present in Brown and northern Pike counties, are 
absent in the southern iiart of T. 3 S., R. 4 W. (Fairmount Twp). Cen¬ 
tral Pike County was probably land during the early Salem time. 

Fossils are locally abundant, consisting of numerous shells of proto¬ 
zoans and fragments of bryozoans. 

The formation has a thickness of 41 feet along IMcGees Creek and 
decreases southward, completely disappearing in the northeast part of 
T. 4 S., R. 4 W. (New Salem Tw])., Plate VII), where the Pennsylvanian 
shales lie upon the Burlington limestone. 

WARSAW-SALEM UNCONFORIMTTY 

After the deposition of the Warsaw, there was a ])rolonged jieriod 
of erosion during which the Warsaw and Keokuk beds were probably 
eroded from much of the Pike County area (Plate VII), leaving the 
Burlington limestone as a surface formation at the beginning of the 
Salem time (Plate IX, D-D). This unconformity is-the basis for the 
division of the ?^Iississippian limestones in this area into the O.sage and 
Meramec groups. 

WARSAW FORMATION 

The upper part of the Warsaw formation consists predominantly 
of soft, calcareous .shale, interbedded with thin crystalline limestone 













94 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


strata. The limestones are very fossiliferoiis, containing many shells 
of brachiopods and remains of bryozoan colonies. Lioclema and Arch¬ 
imedes are abundant. The lower part of the Warsaw formation con¬ 
sists of a series of dolomitic limestone, interbedded with shales. The 
limestones are compact, light gray, and contain only a few fossil re¬ 
mains, which are mostly fragments of bryozoans. 

This formation outcrops along McCraney and McGees creeks 
(Plates VII and VIII). The contact between the Warsaw and Keokuk 
is not sharply defined, and the faunal characteristics of the two forma¬ 
tions are very similar. There appears to be no cessation in deposition 
and no distinct break in the succession of the life of the two formations 
to suggest an unconformity. In a section measured along McGees 
Creek, in sec. 4, T. 3 S., R. 4 W. (Fairmount Twp., Plate VII), the 
Warsaw has a thickness of 49 feet. 

KEOKUK LIMESTONE 

The Keokuk limestone is exposed along McGees (Plate VII) and 
McCraney creeks (Plate VIII). It consists of fossiliferous lime¬ 
stones and shales interbedded with layers of cherty limestone. The 
shaly layers are filled with fragments of bryozoans. Brachiopods and 
crinoids are abundant in the limestone beds. Echinoconchus alternatus, 
Prodiictus magniis, Agaricocrinns tiiberosus, and several genera of 
Spirifera were collected from the exposure of the limestone in the NW. 

sec. 4, T. 3 S., R. 4 W. (Fairmount Twp.) The Keokuk has a 
thickness of 24 feet in this locality. 

BURLINGTON LIMESTONE 

Burlington limestone is the surface formation near the southern 
boundary of the area in Adams County (Plate VIII) and over a con¬ 
siderable portion of the eastern, southern, and western parts of the 
area in Pike County (Plate VII). It varies in thickness from 6 feet on 
the crest of the Pittsfield-Hadley anticline to 100 feet in the Sam Brad¬ 
shaw well, NW. cor. NE. >4 sec. 4, T. 4 S., R. 3 W. (Griggsville Twp., 
Plate VII). 

The formation consists of alternating beds of limestones and cherts. 
The limestones are conspicuously crinoidal, consisting almost entirely 
of separated plates and column segments. Productus burlingtonensis 
is present in considerable abundance. The cherty beds make up approx¬ 
imately fifty per cent of the formation. In many of the wells upon the 
anticline in the gas area of Pike County, the Burlington limestone is 
represented only by cherty layers. 


MoQ«m Ct. 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 40, PLATE IX 




A-A and B-B. Structure sections in southeastern Adams County. C-C and D-D. Structure sections in central and northern Pike County. 





























































































YHYHU2 JADI0OJO30 3TATc» 2IOT^IJJI 






























PARTS OF PIKE AND ADAMS COUNTIES 95 

KINDERHOOK GROUP 

Shales and thinly bedded sandstones of the Kinderhook group out¬ 
crop upon the anticline in central Pike County (Plate VII). The thick¬ 
ness varies from a few feet to a maximum of 122 feet, observed in the 
well of Claude Shinn in the SE. cor. sec. 36, T. 5 S., R. o W. (Derry 
Twp., Plate VII). The formation is probably absent over the central 
portion of section 7 (Plate IX, C-C, well No. 17, and Plate VT). 

DEVONIAN SYSTEM 

UPPER DEVONIAN SHALE 

Between the Kinderhook shale and the “second lime’’ occurs 60 feet 
of dark-brown, calcareous shale, which is referred to as the Upper De¬ 
vonian, and known in this area only from well records. Upon the basis 
of the interpretation of the log of the gas well (No. 17, Plate VI), 
one-fourth of a mile west of the center of sec. 7, T. 5 S., R. 4 W. 
(Pittsfield Twp.), it is the surface formation over a small area in the 
valley of Kiser Creek. No attempt has been made to define the limits 
of the outcrop on the map of the areal geology. (See Plate IX, C-C.) 

SILURIAN SYSTEM 

NIAGARAN LIMESTONE 

Niagara!! limestone lies below the brown shale. Only a few of the 
wells pass through the formation into the Maquoketa shale beneath. 
The upper part of the formation is a white, hard, compact, dolomitic 
limestone, locally called the “cap rock the lower portion is a brown 
dolomite and contains the gas in Pike County. The thickness, as de¬ 
termined from the oil test in sec. 36, T. 5 S., R. 5 W. (Derry Twp.), 
is 38 feet. The Hoing sand, probably derived from reworked material, 
is locally deposited upon the irregular surface of the Maquoketa for¬ 
mation, and forms the base of the Niagaran. 

ORDOVICIAN SYSTEM 

MAQUOKETA SHALE 

. In the well (No. 113), drilled by the Summer Hill Light and Fuel 
Company in sec. 12, T. 6 S., R. 5 W. (Atlas Twp.), 166 feet of green¬ 
ish shale was encountered below the Niagaran limestone. This shale 
has been correlated with the Maquoketa shale of northern Illinois. 

KIM M S WICK-PLATTIN LI M ESTO N E 

The Kimmswick-Plattin limestone consists of beds of white and 
gray limestone. The formation has a thickness of 295 feet in the well 
(No. 113) drilled by the Summer Hill Light and Fuel Company. In 
the outcrops in Calhoun County the formation is composed largely of 
shells. A show of oil is reported from these beds in many parts of 

Illinois. 



experiments in w ater control in the 

FLAT ROCK POOL, CRAW’FORD COUNTY 

• A ougti, Haniiiel II. \V ilHston ami I". 1^]. Savage 
In rnnperation with the U. S. Bureau of Mines 


OUTLINE 


Introduction. 

Summary. 

Purpose of the work. 

Results of corrective work. 

Permanency of results. 

Decline curves. 

Acknowledgments. 

Statement of problem. 

Selection of Flat Rock pool for experimental work... 

Geology. 

General statement. 

Geologic section.. 

Quaternary system . 

Pennsylvanian system. 

Pottsville formation. 

Carbondale formation. 

McLeansboro formation. 

Producing sands.. 

The 600-foot gas sand. 

Structure. 

Upper salt sand. 

Flat Rock sand. 

Structure. 

Oil characteristics. 

Water characteristics. 

Investigation prior to recommendation. 

Peg model. 

Graphic logs. 

Preliminary gaging. 

Method of recording data. 

Ratio. 

Recommendations for repair work on w^ells. 

Gaging after repairs. 

Loss of production incident to delay in repairs on wells 

Testing to determine source of incoming water. 

Use of Venetian red as an indicator. 

Use of packers as testing devices. 


PACK 

. 99 
. 99 
. 99 
.101 
.101 
.101 
.104 
.104 
.106 
.106 
.106 
.107 
.107 
.107 
.110 
.110 
.110 
.111 
.111 
.111 
.111 
.112 
.113 
.114 
.114 
.118 
.118 
.121 
.121 
.124 
.128 
.128 
.129 
.129 
.131 
.131 
.131 


(97) 








































98 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Outline—Continued 


Methods of water control. 

Use of mud fluid. 

The mud . 

Methods of mudding wells. 

Suggestions with regard to casing. 

Application to repair problems. 

Corrosion of casing and methods of prevention 

Intermediate water and its control. 

Use of cement. 

McDonald method of cementing bottom water. 


PAGE 

.131 

.131 

.133 

.134 

.136 

.137 

.137 

.138 

.139 

.140 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE PAGE 

X. Map showing structure on the surface of the 600 foot “gas sand” 

in a portion of the Flat Rock pool. 110 

XI. Map showing structure on the surface of the Flat Rock sand in a 

portion of the Flat Rock pool. 114 

XII. Map showing water and oil production and the water-oil ratio of 
wells in a portion of the Flat Rock Pool; the map also shows 
leases . 128 

FIGURE 

18. Diagram showing rise and decline of oil production in Illinois, 

1905-1918 . 100 

19. A. Diagram showing the production of oil and water for Ewing 

well No. 8, Selby-Cisler Producing Company, beginning immed¬ 
iately alter cementing 

B. Diagram showing the production of oil and water for Ewing 
well No. 8, same company, beginning immediately after packer 


was set. 102 

20. Photograph of a casing corroded by water in the Flat rock pool 105 

21. Map showing contours on Beaume oil gravities. The lighter 

oils are in the higher parts of the structure. (Compare Plates 
X and XI.). 115 

22. Photograph of the peg model, used in the field to represent sub-sur¬ 

face conditions . 119 

23. A graphic log typical of those used in studying wells with sub¬ 

normal production. 120 

24. Photograph of a single-barrel gage setup used early in the work. . 123 

25. Diagram showing in detail the plan of the single-barrel gage in 

a setup. 123 

26. Photograph of the three-barrel siphon gage setup in operation.. 124 

27. Diagram showing in detail the plan of the three-barrel siphon gage 

setup. The apparatus is shown on the tank rather than beside 

it as in the photograph (figure 26) of a similar setup. 125 

28. Sample record sheet as used in gaging. 126 

29. Lease sheet showing gage averages. 126 

30. Photograph of the gage board devised for protection of the records 

while in use on the lease. 127 

























WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 99 

Illustrations—Concliidecl 

PAGE 

31. Diagram to show the saving in casing accomplished by the use of 

mud fluid. 132 

32. Photograph showing the connection at the top of the well between 

the discharge of the mud pump and the casing in the circula¬ 


tion method. The outcoming mud fluid has been forced down 
through the casing, out its bottom, and is returning to the 
surface, outside the casing. 133 

33. Diagram showing the system used in collecting mud for mudding 

Selby-Cisler well, Ewing No. 6B. 135 

34. Photograph of the mud sump taken from the top of the derrick on 

Selby-Cisler well, Ewing No. 6B. 137 

35. Photograph of the mud sump looking toward the derrick. Trench 

near the center in which coarse material settles out; suction 

and mixing pipes at the right the former below the latter.. 139 

TABLES 

8. Results of corrective work. 103 

9. Analyses of water from oil wells in the Flat Rock Pool. 116 

10. Summary of recommendations for repairs to wells. 130 


INTRODUCTION 

The phenomenal development of petroleum in the State of Illinois 
between the years 1905 and 1910 and the subsequent decline is strik¬ 
ingly shown in the curves of figure 18. It is this alarming decline in 
the amount of crude oil produced yearly that constitutes the most ser¬ 
ious problem confronting the oil industry of the commonwealth. Be¬ 
sides the total production of the State, the curves included in figure 18 
show the relative producti\ity of the various ]:)Ools. It will be noted 
that the total State production for the year 1917 was nearly -t,000,000 
barrels less than the amount extracted from the Lawrence County ])Ool 
alone in the year 1911, and about 3,000,000 barrels less than the yield 
from the Crawford County pool in 1908. 

9 


SLUIMARY 

PURrOSE OF THE WORK 

The fundamental purpose of the present work is to combat this 
enormous decline of oil production in Illinois. Pursuant to this end it 
was determined to make an intensive study of a small area in one of 
the oil fields of the State, with the hope that the results attained might 
encourage an extension of similar work throughout the State. The 
methods of gaging wells ami of applying data to the various problems 
encountered are given in consideralile detail, as it is thought that such 
information might he of use to operators conducting a study of similar 
prohlems. It is also hoped that the State and Federal governments will 









MILLION 


100 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 



Fig. 18, Diagram showing rise and decline of oil production in Illinois, 1905- 

1918, expressed in barrels of 42 gallons. 

A. Total for State. D. Clark (''o. Pool. O. Plymouth Pool. 

B. Crawford Co, Pool. K. Sandoval I’ool. 

C. Lawrence Co. Pool. F. Carlyle Pool. 


l)e a1)le to furnish necessary assistance and advice to operators in solv¬ 
ing their oil-field ])rohleins. 
















































































































































































WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


101 


Results of Corrective W'ork 

1 he corrective work discussed in this bulletin and summarized in 
Table 8, is entirely a commercial enterprise, and its practical value 
therefore depends upon the calculable profits resulting from it. 

1 he total increase in “settled” production for the ten wells upon 
which repair work was done amounted to GO.5 barrels a day, at a repair 
cost of $3,975. In other words this “settled” production was obtained at a 
cost of $59.77 ])er barrel. The average increase of oil production per 
well was six barrels a day at the end of six months, and the average water 
decrease was 100 barrels a day. The average cost of re])airs was $3G1 per 
well. Not taking into consideration the saving shown by the decreased 
water production, but only the additional profit represented by the six- 
barrel increase, the cost of repair work was repaid in less than a month’s 
time. 

It will be noted that re])air work on one well only (Ohio No. 5) 
resulted in a loss of oil. Even here, however, the decrease of water is so 
enormous as to partially comj^ensate for the loss in oil, and all or part 
of this loss may perhaps be regained by cleaning out the cement and 
using a smaller quantity for the next attempt. From Ohio No. 10 there 
was no increase in oil, although the water was cut down considerably. 
From these two wells only no production gains were made. All other 
wells showed increased amounts of oil and decreased amounts of water 
lifted. From each of six wells the oil ])roduction was increased on the 
average more than six barrels a day. Two of them increased in pro¬ 
duction ten barrels or more per day, and one increased twenty barrels. 
From five wells were eliminated more than 100 barrels of water a day, 
and from one over 300 barrels were shut off by the use of cement. 

Permanency of Results 


DECLINE CURVES 

The immediate question concerning cementation and other similar 
repairs is as to their effective length of life. In reference to the proba¬ 
ble length of life of the increase, frequent gages were taken on cor¬ 
rected wells. Two of the resultant curves on different types of repair 
work are shown in figure 19. 

In an effort to control lower water, well No. S (fig. 19, A) was 
cemented with some difficulty in the early part of July. The work was 
not entirely satisfactory, but production was increased so that it was 
deemed unwise to try to correct it at the time. When the re])air work 
was comj)leted the production was oil, G5 barrels and water, 125 barrels, 
which amounted to an increase of 550 per cent of oil and a decrease of 


102 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 



Fig. 19. A. Diagram showing the production of oil and water for Ewing well 
No. 8, Selby-Cisler-Producing Company, beginning immediately 
after cementing. The production before cementing was: Oil, 
10 barrels and water, 220 barrels. 

B. Diagram showing the production of oil and water for Ewing well 
No. 5, beginning immediately after the packer was set. The 
production before packing was: Oil, 1.6 barrels and water 70 0 
barrels. 






































































































































































































































































































































































































































Takle 8 . —Results of corrective tvork 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


103 


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3 months latei 1 month later 








































































































































104 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


43 per cent of water. Twelve days later the oil had dropped to 35 
barrels and water increased to 210 barrels. Both oil and water then 
declined slowly during the ensuing two months. 'I'he final gage showed 
30 barrels of oil and 184 barrels of water. 

In figure 10 B, is shown a decline curve for a well on which the 
problem was one of upper water elimination. In contrast with the 
cement curve, the water decreases sharply and then rises slowly. The 
oil rises rapidly at first as the water is eliminated, and then more slowly. 
It will reach its maximum and then start on the natural decline curve 
of the pool. 

After the first acute adjustment is made the changes are quite 
gradual, in both the upper water and lower water problems, and if the 
work is done carefully the beneficial effects should last some length of 
time. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The work was started by Air. Alerle L. Nebel and had been carried 
almost to com])letion at the time of his death in October, 1918. 

Acknowledgments are due the Ohio Oil Company, the Central Refin¬ 
ing Company, the Selby and Cisler Refining Company, James Pease and 
Company, and the Indian Refining Company for their hearty cooperation 
in supplying necessary data, their assistance in the preliminary field study, 
and their response to recommendations for corrective work. 

Special acknowledgments are made to the Ohio Oil Company for 
necessary material used in the work, to the Illinois Pipe Line Company 
for the s])ecial equipment they supplied, and to the oil men of the dis¬ 
trict for their interest. 

Acknowledgments are also due the Illinois State Water Survey for 
helpful cooperation and for numerous analyses. Mr. Prank J. Aladden 
assisted in the gaging of wells and other work in the field. 

Great aid was given by the numerous farm and lease foremen, 
employees, and officers of the companies, especially Mr. J. K. Kerr, Mr. 

C. W. Baker and Air. Walter Lowrie, Air. John Bell, Air. R. S. Blatch- 
ley. Air. Carl Alorrison, Air. Lawrence Myers, Air. W. J. Hurd, and Air. 
Charles Karnes. The work was a coo])erative one, and grateful ac¬ 
knowledgment of the assistance they rendered is made. 

STATEAIENT OE PROBLEAI 

One of the most wides‘'i)read and troublesome i)roblems affecting ] 
])roduction throughout the State is the great amount of water being 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 105 

pumped to the sui face along with the oil in the process of recovery. The 
water is separated from the oil by gravity. The methods of pumi)ing 
and pieparing oil for the market have been covered by Blatchley.^ It 
IS usually necessary to steam the oil before the water will settle out 
sufficiently to render the jiroduct acceptable to the pipe-line companies. 



Fig. 20. Photograph of a casing corroded by water in the 

P''lat Rock Pool. 

Piimjiing large amounts of water with the oil is subject to the follow¬ 
ing economical disadvantages: 

1. Power is wasted in lifting the water to the surface. 

While it can not he said that the power cost would vary in direct 
proportion to the amount of fluid handled, nevertheless if the water 
content were eliminated it is certain the cost of production would he 
materially decreased. 

iRlatchley, Rayniond S.. Tlie oil lield.s of Crawford and Lawrence countie.s: 
Ill. Slate Ceol. Survey Hull. 22, j). 15!), 1!)13. 












106 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


2. Corrosion of casing (fig. 20), rods, and lease piping occasions 
considerable ex])ense of re])lacing such equipment which could be 
avoided if the amount of water were reduced. 

3. The production of a well is often greatly reduced by ingress of 
water. 

The exclusion of water from oil and gas productive strata was 
therefore undertaken as the first step in retarding the decline of oil 
production. This jdiase of the sul)ject is dealt with exclusively in the 
present report. 

SELECTION OF FLAT ROCK POOL FOR EXPERIMENTAL 

WORK 

Several reasons combined to determine the selection of the Flat 
Rock pool. It t)resents a comparatively well-defined area and can 
therefore be considered as a unit free from the more complicated 
factors that might have developed in considering a like area of one of 
the larger pools. Also much trouble has been occasioned in this pool 
by the infiltration of highly corrosive waters, both top and bottom, into 
the wells. In fact, the water troubles in this pool are found so pro¬ 
nounced that any demonstration work accomplished in it should be 
highly convincing as to its effectiveness. A portion of the Flat Rock 
pool embracing approximately 300 acres, in sec. 31, Honey Creek Town¬ 
ship (T. G N., R. 11 A .), was selected for intensive study. As shown 
on the map, Plate XII, the properties involved were under lease to 
four companies, as follows: 

Central Refining Company—12 producing wells. 

James I’ease Company—9 producing wells. 

Ohio Oil Company—13 producing wells. 

Selby and Cisler Producing Company—15 producing wells. 

GEOLOGW 

General Statement 

The Flat Rock oil pool lies adjacent to the town of Flat Rock, in 
the southeast part of Crawford County, ten miles southeast of Robin¬ 
son, the county seat. From Flat Rock it extends towards the northeast 
for a distance of five and one-half miles, including the small production 
in new territory at the northeast end. The area comprises all, or parts, 
of sections 1, G, 30, 31, and 3G in Honey Creek Townshi]), and sections 20, 
21, 22, 29, and 32 in Alontgomery lownship. Ihe pool is \ ery irregular 
in shape, fingering out in several places, especially in the northeast part 


iBy T. K. Sava^-e. 



WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


107 


of the area. Its greatest width does not exceed three-fourths of a mile, 
and in some places it is considerably less than that figure. 

The pool is separated by barren territory from the Robinson and 
New Hebron pools in the north, from the Chapman and Parker pools 
on the southwest, and from the Birds pool on the south. The produc¬ 
ing area lies on the east slope of the La Salle anticline, but its long axis 
extends in a direction nearly at right angles to the trend of the main 
La Salle arch. During 1918 there were about 200 active wells in this 
area, which had an average daily production of about 3^ barrels. 
When the pool was first opened in 1910, productions of 100 barrels per 
day were not uncommon. \\ ithin one or two years after the wells were 
drilled, the production declined rapidly to near the present figures, and 
since that time the decrease has been very gradual. 

Geologic Section 

The rocks exposed in this area, or penetrated in deep drillings, 
consist of a mantle of unconsolidated materials composed of glacial till, 
loess, alluvium, and wind-blown sand belonging to the Quaternary 
series, overlying hard rock strata of Pennsylvanian age. 

QUATERNARY SYSTEM 

The glacial till in the Flat Rock area varies in thickness from a few 
inches to 20 or 30 feet, the average being about 18 feet. It is of Illi- 
noian age; it is bluish when fresh, but weathers to a yellow or brown. 
As elsewhere, this till is somewhat sandy, consisting of unsorted clay, 
sand, pebbles, and boulders. 

The loess is a fine-grained, wind-blown silt which forms a sheeted 
deposit over almost the entire region, being thickest in the valleys, and 
thinner over the slopes and uplands. The alluvium consists of water- 
laid sand and clay, or mixtures of these, which in the larger stream val¬ 
leys of the region have a thickness of 50 to 100 feet. 

PEN N SYLVA NIA N S YSTE M 

Below the unconsolidated surface material the drill has penetrated 
Pennsylvanian strata to a depth of 900 or more feet, without reaching 
the base of the system. These consist largely of shale and sandstones, 
or more commonly of mixtures of these, with thin beds of limestone and 
coal. They represent the ^McLeansboro, Carbondale, and Pottsville 
formations, the latter containing the Robinson sand, which furnishes the 
oil and gas in the Flat Rock pool. 


108 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


A generalized section of the Pennsylvanian rocks in this area is 
given below: 

Table of Peruisylvanian rocks in the Flat Rock Pool 

McLeansboro formation Includes all of the Pennsylvanian rooks above the Her¬ 
rin (No. 6) coal; consisting of shales and sandstones 
and thin beds of limestone and coal. Thickness 450 to 
500 feet. 

Carbondale formation Includes the strata between the top of the Herrin (No. 

6) coal and the bottom of the Murphysboro (No. 2) 
coal; comprising shales, sandstones, thin limestones, 
and important coal beds. Thickness 300 to 400 feet. 
Pottsville formation Includes all of the Pennsylvanian rocks below the 

Murphysboro (No. 2) coal; consisting dominantly of 
sandstones, with gray and black shales, and a few thin 
coals. Thickness in adjacent areas 500 feet, not en¬ 
tirely penetrated in the Flat Rock pool. 

The following detailed log of the Selby and Cisler well No. 6, on 
the W. E. Ewing farm, near the center of the Flat Rock pool, will show 
more definitely the character and succession of the strata })enetrated by 
the wells in the Flat Rock pool. This log was compiled from a study 
of the samples of drillings and from the driller’s log, and is a repre¬ 
sentative record of the wells in this area. 


Log of Well Ko. 6 on Ewing Farm, section 31, Honey Creek Township 

Thickness Depth 


Pleistocene and Recent Feet Feet 

1. Till and loess, yellowish brown with small pebbles 23 23 

2. Clay, hard . 2 25 

3. Clay and sand, yellowish gray, calcareous; fresh 

water . 8 33 

4. Clay, yellow bluish brown, and gray, calcareous, 

with small pebbles. 5 38 

Pennsylvanian 

McLeansboro formation 

5. Sandstone, gray, hard, shaly, calcareous. 7 45 

6. Shale, dark blue and gray, sandy, calcareous. 20 65 

7. Shale, black, hard, calcareous. 2 67 

8. Shale, black . 35 102 

9. Coal; some gas on top. 6 108 

10. Sandstone, white to gray, fine grained, shaly. 4 112 

11. Limestone, gray . 33 145 

12. Limestone, black . 7 152 

13. Limestone, blue and gray, granular. 5 157 

14. Shale, gray, sandy, calcareous. 30 187 

15. Shale, gray and dark. 23 210 

16. Shale, gray, calcareous. 25 235 

17. Shale, brown . 15 250 


















WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


109 


Log of well No. 6 on Eioing farm—Concluded 


18. Sandstone, gray, fine grained, with some shale 

(some water) . 

19. Limestone, gray, and shale with some sand. 

20. Shale, blue . 

21. Sandstone, gray, fine grained, with salt water_ 

22. Shale, gray, hard. 

23. Shale, gray to dark brown, sandy. 

24. Shale, light gray. 

25. Shale, gray to brown. 

26. Limestone, light gray, shaly and sandy. 

27. Sandstone, fine grained, calcareous... 

28. Sandstone, dark, with some shale and limestone.. 

29. Shale, gray to dark, with some sand and limestone 

Carbondale formation 

30. Coal (Herrin, No. 6 ?). 

31. Shale, sandy, gray, fine grained. 

32. Limestone, gray, with some shale. 

33. Shale, dark gray, hard. 

34. Shale, gray and dark, soft. 

35. Shale, gray and dark, hard. 

36. Sandstone, yellowish, fine grained, calcareous (600- 

foot “gas sand”). 

37. Sandstone, gray to white, fine grained, water bear¬ 

ing .. 

38. Shale, gray . 

39. Shale, black . 

40. Shale, gray, with sandstone, fine grained. 

41. Coal . 

42. Shale, light gray. 

43. Shale, gray to dark grayish brown. 

44. Shale, dark gray to brown, hard. 

45. Shale, blue gray, calcareous, with some fine sand.. 

46. Shale, gray and dark, with coal. 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

60 

310 

10 

320 

10 

330 

40 

370 

20 

390 

20 

410 

10 

420 

5 

425 

5 

430 

10 

440 

45 

485 

3 

488 


5 

493 

32 

525 

15 

540 

35 

575 

10 

585 

30 

615 

20 

635 

10 

645 

30 

675 

20 

695 

15 

710 

Little 


40 

750 

35 

785 

1 

786 

12 

798 

2 

800 


Pottsville formation 

47. Shale, blue, with gray, fine-grained sand. 

48. Sandstone, dark gray to blue, shaly, calcareous, fine 

grained . 

49. Top of oil sand. 

50. Bottom of upper streak. 

51. Sandstone, gray, fine grained. 

52. Sandstone, yellowish gray, fine grained (oil pay).. 

53. Sandstone, gray, fine grained (water sand). 

54. Shale, blue . 

55. Sandstone, gray fine grained, with a few larger 

grains (water sand). 


70 

870 

23 

893 

• » 

90514 

. . 

9091/2 

Wi 

911 

8 

919 

5 

924 

• 1 

925 

10 

935 




































110 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


rOTTSVlLXE FOUMATION 

The Pottsville, which is the lowest formation of the Pennsylvanian 
system, has not been entirely penetrated by the deep wells in the Mat Rock 
pool. ]"rom the logs of wells in adjacent territory to the west and south, 
this formation is known to have a total thickness of 550 to 575 feet. 
The rocks consist chiefly of rather massive sandstones, which merge into 
sandy shales in the upper part. A few thin coals are present at dififerent 
levels. 

The stray gas sands that are found in this area are thought to occur 
in the upper part of the Pottsville formation. The Robinson sand, which 
furnishes the oil in the Flat Rock pool, lies about 100 feet below the 
top of the Pottsville. Below the Robinson sand the sandstones in the 
lower part of the formation are usually fllled with water. 

CAIJBONDALE FORM AT I OX 

The rocks of the Carbondale formation, like those of the overlying 
McLeansboro, are dominantly sandy shales, but they also include beds 
of micaceous sandstone, thin limestone, and important coal beds. The 
most prominent members of the formation are the Herrin (No. 6) coal 
at the top, the Harrisburg or Springfield (No. 5) coal 50 to 60 feet 
below the Herrin bed, and the Mur])hysboro (No. 2) coal at the base. 
The so-called “gas sand” occurs near the middle of the formation. The 
total thickness of the Carbondale strata in this area is about 350 feet. 

:\I C I.E A X SRO RO FORM AT 10 X 

A thickness of 40 feet in the upper part of the McLeansboro forma¬ 
tion is exposed in the vicinity of Flat Rock. These strata consist of 
15 to 18 feet of yellowish-gray, rather thick-bedded, micaceous sandstone, 
often with a conglomerate 1 to 2 feet thick at the base, below which is 
a marked unconformity. In places this sandstone is underlain by bluish- 
gray shale which is in places obliquely jointed, and has a thickness of 
12 to 14 feet. In other places in this vicinity the shale bed had been 
entirely cut out by erosion prior to the deposition of the conglomerate. 
Underlying the shale horizon is a gray, coarsely granular limestone, 
2 to 5 feet thick, which is usually separated from an 18-inch coal bed 
by 1 to 3 feet of dark shale. Below this coal the deep wells usually 
penetrate gray and bluish or dark sandy shales interbedded with gray 
sandstones, shaly sandstones, and carbonaceous shale. In the lower part 
of the formation there occur with the shale and sandstone an occasional 
band of limestone and thin coal. The exposures of McLeansboro strata 
in this area show a number of low undulations, but in general they 
lie almost horizontal over the entire area. The total thickness of the 
formation in this region is 450 to 500 feet. 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 40, PLATE X 































































yavaua jy;M0CuoH»;3'PA^a>?.ity-<i-tain,-ATE x 










































WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


111 


The Producing Sands 
THE 600-foot ^^gas sand" 

i\ear the middle part of the Carbondale formation is a sand that 
usually contains more or less gas, and is known locally as the 600-foot 
gas sand . It varies greatly in thickness from place to jilace, a range 
from almost nothing up to 50 feet having been reported in different wells. 
This sand has a characteristic yellowish-brown appearance and oily feel. 

STltUCTUUE OF THE SAND 

A Structure map of the Pennsylvanian rocks in this area, shown by 
contours drawn on the top of the “gas sand" (Plate X), appears to 
indicate that the places where the sand is highest are in the southwest part 
of the pool, from which the surface of the sand declines rapidly in a 
northeast direction toward the Hope and Tohill farms of the Ohio Oil 
Company leases. Consistent with this structure the gas siipplv is some¬ 
what greater in the higher, southern parts of the pool than farther north 
in the area. The gas from this sand furnishes the greater part of 
the fuel used in pumping the oil in the entire Flat Rock pool. 

\\dien the first wells were put down in this pool, the pressure of 
the gas was excessive, and difficult to control. Wells were often permitted 
to blow for days, and in some cases for an indefinite time, before any 
effort was made to stop the flow of gas. Even when the wells were 
plugged in accordance with legal requirements, the waste of gas was not 
prevented, as the sand and steel balls were not sufficient to stop the flow. 

UPPER SALT SAND 

The “Upper salt sand", also known as the “600-foot salt sand", is 
a slightly consolidated, water-bearing sandstone, occurring immediately 
below the “gas sand" and present over the entire area of the Flat Rock 
pool. The sand grains are commonly clean and white, containing some 
brownish feldsjiar, but the material is in strong contrast with the brown 
“gas sand" that lies above it. The water that causes the corrosion of the 
pipes and casings in this field conies from the “upper salt sand". 
The thickness of this sand ranges from 20 or 30 to 60 or more feet, being 
greatest where the overlying “gas sand" is thin, and thin where the lat¬ 
ter sand is thicker. The drillers usually rejiort no break or parting be¬ 
tween the “gas sand" and the “upper salt sand". However, by careful 
watching during the drilling of this part of the section in the Ewing 6B 
well, a thickness of 3 to 6 inches of hard shell parting was noted im¬ 
mediately above the water sand. It is possible that such a thin parting 
separates these sands in other parts of the Elat Rock pool. This im- 


112 


Oil. INVESTIGATIONS 


pervious parting between the sand horizons doubtless would account for 
the fact that water from the wells that do not reach the bottom of the 
shallow “gas sand” is seldom actively corrosive, while the water from the 
oil wells that penetrate the underlying “upper salt sand” causes a great 
deal of trouble by its corrosive action in the casing. This highly mineral¬ 
ized water from the “upper salt sand” attacks the well casings so 
rapidly that near the middle of the pool, where the trouble is greatest, 
the life of the casings may not be longer than 1<S months to 2 years. 
It has destroyed an immense amount of casing and will ultimately 
cause the abandonment of the field before the com])lete drainage of the 
oil ])ool unless preventive steps are taken. 

FLAT ROCK SAND 

Practically all of the oil production m the Flat Rock pool comes from 
what is known in this area as the Flat Rock sand, the equivalent of the 
Robinson sand farther north and west. In this pool the sand is yellow¬ 
ish-gray and rather fine grained, and lies about 1)00 to 1,000 feet below 
the surface, the dififerences in depth being largely due to the relatively 
rapid thinning and thickening of this bed. The larger part of the oil 
comes from a depth of 025 to 050 feet. This sand appears not to be 
continuous over the entire Crawford County oil field, but occurs as dis¬ 
connected lenses of dififerent sizes, shapes, and thicknesses irregularly 
spread over the region at a fairly well-defined horizon. It is most con¬ 
spicuously irregular in the northeast and the southwest portions of the 
Flat Rock pool. In the Montgomery Township area the sand occurs in 
three lenses each of which contains oil, but only the lowest furnishes 
paying production. 

The up])er surface of the sand seems to present a succession of 
ridges and depressions which in general extend parallel with the long axis 
of the pool. The ridges and several of the de])ressions are shown on 
the structure ma]), Plate XI. It is significant that the strongest well in 
the Flat Rock ])ool is located on one of these ridges. This is the Selby 
and Cisler well No. 8 on the Fwing farm. 

The pay portion of the Flat Rock sand is usually immediately under¬ 
lain by water and is commonly only 3 or 4 feet thick. However, the logs 
of some of the wells, notably those on the central Tohill farm, indicate a 
thickness of 70 feet for this sand. In some of the wells located over 
depressions in the sand, the drill passed into the water sand without 
encountering any oil pay. 

Hie salt water that is ])resent immediately lieneath the oil pay, 
from which it is not sejiarated by a jiarting of any kind, was evidently 
instrumental in the collection of the oil, and it rises higher into the 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


113 


oil sand as the oil is exhausted from above it. When the pool was first 
drilled, the head was so strong in some of the wells that the water rose 
and flowed out over the top. 

In drilling wells at present the greatest care is necessary not to 
penetrate so near to the water sand that the shot of nitroglycerine will 
break into this sand and flood the well with more water than the pumps 
can handle. In such an event the only remedy is the use of cement to 
close up the pores and cracks in the water sand, and so shut off the 
flow of water, a solution only slightly less corrosive than that from 
the “upper salt sand”. This method of control of the lower water is 
eminently successful in all cases where it has been used with proper pre¬ 
cautions in the process of cementation. 

STRUCTURE 

It may be seen from the structure map on which the contours are 
drawn on the Flat Rock sand (Plate XI) that this sand appears to he 
lenticular, the lenses extending in long narrow belts having a general 
northeast-southwest trend. The slo])e on the southeast side of the ridges 
is rather regular and gradual, while on the northwest side the sand 
fingers out in irregular, lobate extensions. The depression contours on 
the west side also appear markedly different from those in the east side. 

Mr. Rich^ has suggested that in the h^lat Rock pool the oil-bearing 
sands may be a part of a great delta formation in which are combined 
river-channel deposits, shore or barrier beaches, thrown up by waves in 
front of a delta, and wave-worked sand spread out upon the adjacent 
ocean bottom. By this explanation the Flat Rock sand would appear to 
represent off-shore or l)arrier beaches built up by the waves along a delta 
front. The trend of the axes of the minor ridges and depressions, parallel 
with the long axis of the pool, is consistent with this explanation. The 
gradual sloi)e on the east and the minor depressions on the west are also 
in harmony with such an cx])lanation. The more or less irregular char¬ 
acter of the contours on the west, while those on the east are confined 
to larger curves, can also be explained on the assumption of an irregulai 
lens of sand. In the Flat Rock pool as a whole the top of the Robinson 
sand lies from 30 to 50 feet higher than the level of this sand in adjacent 
areas, a feature which was due in part at least to deformation. The 
character of the surface with its parallel ridges.and its fingering lenses 
is such as to indicate that these local irregularities of the sand are due 
to its mode of deposition, rather than to deformation after the material 

was deposited. 

John L., Oil and f?as in the Bird.s quadranprle. Ill. State Geol. Survey 
Bull. 33, p. 137, 1916. 



114 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


OIL CHARACTERISTICS. 

The oil from llie Flat Rock pool has rather high specihc gravity 
and sulphur content, although the variation is considerable even in the 
small area under consideration. One well, No. 12 on the L. N. 1 ohill 
farm, sec. ^11, Honey Creek Township, shows a gravity as low as 30.5° 
Heaume, while well No. 2T on the W. E. Ewing, section 31, E. Honey 
Creek Township, has a gravity as high as 18.4°. A few scattered sani])- 
lings determined the fact that there was considerable variation, and the 
work was continued to bring to light any regularity, if such did occur. 

A sample was taken from every well and carefully warmed and the 
gravities taken. When these were plotted, so marked appeared the tend- 
enc}' for the lighter oils to hnd their way to the center of the pool 
that a contour map was based on the gravities alone (fig. 21). This 
map showed that the lighter oils were restricted almost entirely to the 
center of the pool, though the heavier oils would occasionally be found 
there also. 

There are two possible explanations for the occurrence^: First, the 
lighter oils may have migrated bodily to the upper ])ortions of the pool. 
This is unlikely since ])etroleum is a solution of dififerent constituents 
mutually dissolved, and solutions will not separate gravitatively. Second, 
through change of tem]:)erature or ju'essure, the gaseous hydrocarbons 
may have been released from the oil and migrated as gas along the to]) 
of the sand and reabsorbed. The action would not be uniform and 
would be incom])lete, but the tendency would be to move the gases to¬ 
ward the higher ])ortion of the ])ool. If this is the case, the difiPerence 
is due only to the presence of more dissolved gases in the center of the 
pool than upon its flanks. This is sup|)orted l)y the fact that the wells 
that produce “lively” oil are mostly found in the central portion. 

The only certain test would be a chemical analysis to see if the 
difference was a major one, involving the constituents of the heavier 
oils, or a minor one affecting only the gaseous part of the series. 

WATER CHARACTERISTICS 

The corrosive waters of the Flat Rock pool are of two varieties, 
the u])per water is the more active of the two, and it differs essen¬ 
tially from that of the lower sand. 

Analyses were made of the waters, both in the laboratory and field 
by the Illinois Water Survey, as shown in Table 0. The up])er water is 
high in chlorides, sodium, ])otassium, calcium, and magnesium. The 
lower water is high in sulphates and lower in the alkali and alkaline' 

1 Rich, J. I..,, Oil and pras in Birds quadrangle: Ill. State Geol. Survey Bu 1. 
33. p. 130, 1916. 



ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 40, PLATE XI 



Map showing the structure on the surface of the Flat Rock sand in a portion of the Flat Rock pool 
































































YHV^U3 JADIOOJOaO HTAT2 2IOV1IJJI ^ > 




j ■Av 


• 1 ^;' 




-V 


' ' i 

« - 


































WATER CONTROL, PLAT ROCK POOL 115 



earth chlorides. The total of dissolved salts in the upper water is almost 
twice that in the lower. The hydrogen sulphide content is similar. 

1 he chemical reaction is somewhat complicated , and lesearch work 
has not as yet been completed. The iron is dissolved in a somewhat 
complex reaction and preci])itatcd as a sulphide. It is carried in sus- 
])ension to the water-receiving tanks and there deposited. 

1 Unpublished report on corrosive reactions by W. F. Monfort of Ill. Water 
Survey. 

































Tahle 9 .—Analysis of Waters from Oil Wells in the Flat Rock Pool 


116 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


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WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


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118 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


INVESTIGATION PRIOR TO RECOMMENDATION 

The work done in the ])Ool depended largely upon the well logs and 
well histories that were obtained in the preliminary investigation of the 
pool. In gathering well statistics the past history of the well and its 
present condition were considered of the utmost importance for upon 
these things the recommendations depended. Almost without exception 
skeleton logs only were obtainable, showing the top and thicknesses of 
the oil pays and occasionally the locations of the upper water and gas 
sands. Mistakes were found, and allowances had to be made for er¬ 
rors and non-uniformity of methods of measuring, since some drillers 
measure to the top of the sand whether dry or not, while others meas¬ 
ure to the top of the oil-producing horizon only. 

The majority of the records were collected in 1913^ and required 
only occasional checking. The logs of the more recently drilled wells 
and some that had been previously overlooked were collected from the 
producing companies and drillers. 

In addition to the actual logs, the knowledge of the field superin¬ 
tendents, foremen, and pumpers, concerning history and ])resent con¬ 
dition of the well, was incorporated in the well log. This included the 
condition of casing, age, and if ])ossible the weight, in addition to in¬ 
formation as to casing re])lacemcnts, inside strings, and tubing packers. 
If packers had been set, either on tubing or on a second water string, 
their kind, size, and depth of seat were of importance. This information 
was found invaluable when the recommendations for corrective work 
were made. 

The elevations of the wells were run with plane table and alidade 
from primary traverse between United States Geological Survey bench 
marks. The elevations were taken to the nearest foot onlv. The ele- 
vations of the sands were then reduced to a datum plane 1,000 feet be¬ 
low sea level. It was from these figures that the structure maps on the 
oil and gas sands and the peg-model sections and graphic logs were 
made. 


Peg Model 

Before actual work in the field was begun, a peg model of the pool 
was constructed. The model was made to scale, 150 feet to the inch 
both vertically and horizontally, to prevent exaggeration of the field 
structure. Upon this model all drill holes, gas or oil, dry, abandoned, 
or producing, were located. The logs of the wells were next painted 
on dowels which were then set into the base map up to the level of the 

1 Blatchley, R. S.,.The oil fields of Crawford and Lawrence counties: Ill. State 
Geol. Survey Bull. 22, 1913. 



119 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 

datum plane. This left the tops of the log sticks conforming to the 
to])ography of the area. 

Ihe model was finally completed by connecting the different sands 
wn 1 mats of colored strings. Two upper water sands, a gas sand, an 
oil sand with from one to three pays, and a lower water sand, were 





Fig. 22. Photograph of the peg model, use in the field to represent sub-surface 

conditions 

shown up at fairly constant levels (hg. 22). The area was marked by a 
structure convex upward, slo])ing gently away from the producing ])ool, 
both in the oil and U])per water sand, although the data for the latter 
were lacking at the most interesting j)oints. 
































































120 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 



Fig. 23. A graphic log typical of those used 
in studying wells with sub-normal 
production. 































WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


121 


1 he model was built to give an exact picture of the actual subsur¬ 
face conditions of the pool, to show any discrepancies of casing of wells, 
or of total depth. In addition, it served as a means of explaining to 
practical oil men what the sand would actually look like if they could 
see it. 


Graphic Logs 

After all obtainable data on the wells of the pool had been collected, 
and after the preliminary gaging had been completed, all wells with sub¬ 
normal production were graphically logged, as this was the most efficient 
way of grouping all different characteristics and ])ossil)ilities. They 
showed (hg. 23) the elevation of the top of the well, the depth at which 
each string was set, the presence or absence of outer strings, and the 
date they were pulled, if ever. They showed the depth, thickness, and 
relative productivity of each pay sand, and the amount of break between 
them, the gaged production in both oil and water, and the date of gaging. 
They also showed where possible the names of the contractors and of 
the drillers who had actually done the work on the wells, and in addition 
the kind of remedial work done, such as cementing or casing repairs. 

Wdth the material assembled in this manner, the recommendations 
for corrective work were more easily understood, and the reasons for 
them more clear. 


Preliminary Gaging 

The whole work in the pool de]:)endcd u])on the accurate gaging of the 
oil and water production of each individual well. Since nothing exactly 
similar had been attempted in this line before, there was more or less 
evolution in the methods used during the procedure of the work. 

The gaging outfits changed progressively throughout the whole work, 
as the need arose and the chances for im]n-ovement showed themselves. 
At first all the gaging was done in oO-gallon oil barrels or in small 
five-gallon kegs or cans (figs. 24 and 25). These were all strapi)ed before 
they were used (gallons per inch of vertical distance computed and 
checked), so that inches or feet in the barrel could be computed in gal¬ 
lons of fluid. This was found sufficiently accurate for the water gages, 
but invariably the oil gages were too high, sometimes as much as 50 per 
cent. 

The setu]) that produced the best results was a three-barrel arrange¬ 
ment patterned after the present water-separating system used in the dis¬ 
trict (figs. 20 and 27). A receiving barrel was used with two outlets, 
the lower one connected by a si])hon i)ipe with the water harrel, and 
the other, nearer the top of the barrel connected with the oil barrel. 


122 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


The former outlet is generally 1)4 or 2 inches in diameter, and the latter 
1)4 inches. Both have stop-cocks to control the liow of fluid and so 
keep the line of demarcation between the oil and the water at a con¬ 
stant position near the middle of the barrel. I'he water barrel has a 2- 
inch outlet and stop in the extreme bottom. It is necessary to have the 
outlet of the water barrel of large size to prevent overflow of the separa¬ 
tor system while the water barrel is draining. The outlet of the oil 
barrel is also ])laced in the lowest portion of the barrel to permit com¬ 
plete drainage of the oil from that barrel. This should also be 1)4 inches, 
as the oil runs rather slowly in cold weather, and in some cases the oil 
may All the se])arator and flow out of the water siphon into the water 
barrel before the oil gage is completely emptied, if the outlet is small. 

When the three-barrel sijdion is i)Ut in use the fluid from the well 
is turned into the separator barrel and the time taken accurately. Wdth 
both outlets closed, the fluid is allowed to till the barrel and the time 
is taken. The water siphon outlet is then opened and the water barrel 
filled. The siphon is closed, the water outlet opened, and the water 
allowed to flow back into the lease receiving tank. The water outlet is 
closed, the siphon o])ened, and the water started running for the second 
barrel of water. W hen the oil becomes four or live inches deep on top of 
the salt water in the separator barrel, the upper oil outlet in that barrel 
is opened, and the oil allowed to run over into the oil barrel, always, 
however, keeping one or two inches of oil in the separator barrel and 
closing the oil outlet while the siphon is closed, or the water rising in the 
barrel will carry the oil level above the level of the oil outlet and 
allow water to be carried over with the oil into the oil barrel. When the 
oil barrel is completely filled, the lower cock should be opened a little, 
and any water which has been carried over with the oil should be drained 
ofif and the barrel refilled. In cold weather when the oil does not run 
freely, a steam coil in the oil barrel will give more accurate results. 
The steam should be kept exhausting slowly through a coil in the oil 
barrel. The oil as it passes over it will be warmed and the separated 
water can be drained oft' at the bottom of the barrel as before. When¬ 
ever an oil or water barrel is emptied, the notation should be made of 
it on the gage board. 

This gaging outfit when once set up was extremely practicable and 
not at all hard to operate. The results were uniformly good, and the 
outfit, once set up on the top of the receiving tank and connected with 
the wells, required no attention beyond the use of a watch and the turn 
ing of the cocks. 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


123 



Fig. 24. Photograph of a single-barrel gage setup used early in 

the work. 



P''ig. 25. Diagram showing in detail the plan of the 

single-barrel gage setup. 



































































124 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Method of Recording Data 

AW records of observations were made immediately after the gaging 
was comj)lete(L They showed in all cases, the time of day, the date, and 
the weather if it had any influence on the work. The character of the 
oil and the water })umped was also included, and if any oil was taken 
to run for gravities, it was given a sample number. The form used was 
in figure 28. The amount of both water and oil was entered in gallons, 
and the total amount per day computed in terms of 42-gallon pipe-line 



Fig 26. Photograph of the three-barrel siphon gage setup in operation. 

barrels. The calculations were in principle the same for each of the 
different methods of gaging used: 

min. in 24 hrs. gals, oil or water 

—^-X- 

min. length of gage 42 

After the gages taken in the field had been completed the average 
production was entered on the lease sheet (fig. 29). These showed well 
number, length of time pumped daily, production as gaged and as cut to fit 
the lease runs. Estimates made by the pumpers or lease foremen were 
also entered, leaving the rest of the sheet for pertinent remarks con¬ 
cerning the well. In some cases this showed at a glance that corrective 
work would be of ])rohibitive ex])ense or else entirely useless, as is 
shown by wells Nos. and 9 on the sheet (fig. 29), one with nothing but 
4J^-inch casing in the hole and the other with 40 feet of working barrel 
and anchor pipe in the bottom of it. The latter precludes a cementing 









WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


125 



Fig. 27. Diagram showing in detail the plan of the three-barrel siphon gage setup. The apparatus is shown on the tank 

rather than beside it as in the photograph (figure 26) of a similar setup. 


























































































































































































































126 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


GAUGE SHEET, CRAWFORD COUNTY, ILL. 

Producer Selby-Cisler Lease W. E. Ewin^r Sec. 31, E Twp. Honey Creek 


Date 

Time 

of 

Day 

Well 

No. 

Time of Runs 

Water 

Oil 

Sample 

Remarks 

Begin 

End 

Diff. 

Gal. 

Test 

Bbl. 
24 Hr. 

Test 

24-Hr 

For 
Sp. G 

11- 4-19 

A. M. 

.31 

9:18:00 

10:18:00 

1: 0:00 

151.0 

86.0 

23.0 

13.2 

1 

Pumping poorly 


P. M. 

7 

1:15:00 

2:20:00 

73:(X) 

203.0 

95.4 

6.5 

3.05 

2 

Recased 

11- 5-19 

A. M. 

11 

9: 8:00 

10:38:00 

1 :.30:00 

176.0 

67. 

10. 

3.8 

. • • • ... 







22:30 








P. M. 

16 

1:11:00 

12:26:00 

1:15:(X) 

270. 

123. 

20. 

9.1 

7 

Water black 






11:23 







12-.31-19 

A M. 

8 

10:00:00 

12:00:00 

2:tX):00 

800. 

228. 

117. 

33.4 

5 

More water than 












pump can handle 






5:42:00 








P. M. 

8 

1:58:00 

3:.58:00 

2:00:00 

817. 

233. 

127.5 

36.5 




Fig. 28. Sample record sheet as used in gaging. 


LEASE SHEET, CRAWFORD COUNTY, ILL. 


Producer, Central RefiningrCo. Lease, L. N. Tohill. Sec. .31 E. Twp. Honey Creek 


Well 

No. 

Time 

pumped. 

Production 

Ratio 

Remarks. 

As gaged 

Cut to 
runs 

Esti¬ 

mat’d 

Water 

Oil 

1 

4—2 

27.0 

7.9 


4 

3.4 

Cemented 3l feet 



118. 

5.2 


4 

22.7 

Nothing but 4A inch pipe 

5-6 

IV 2 

.7 

2.5 


3 

.3 

Drilled only to top of sand. String in 








hole 

7-5 


125. 

7.6 


4 

16.5 


8 

8 

19. 

1. 


2 

19. 


9 


1.52. 

3.7 


t 

41. 

*40 ft. working barrel and anchor in 








hole 

9 


m. 

10. 



12.6 

Set packer: improved oil 150 per cent 

10 

IV 2 

6 

2.4 


2 

2.5 

Cemented 11 ft. to 919 

13 

1 

2. 

.... 




*Drilled only to upper sand 

13 


.... 




. 

Deepened: hit water: pulled and plugged 

14 

2_ 2 

9 . 

1. 



9. 


15 


103. 

.9 


1 

115. 

*Leak in casing 

15 

4—2 

10.7 

10.4 


,, 

1.3 

Set packer at 774: increased oil KX) per 








cent: reduced water 90 per cent 

16 

8 

83. 

7.8 


2 

11. 


17 


209. 

12.2 


8 

17.1 

♦Cemented in 1916 3 feet: pumping ca- 








pacity on 2i inch tubing 

17 


242. 

2 2 



110. 

Pipe gave way 

17 

.... 

204. 

19. 


•• 

10.7 

Packer in bottom joint 

17 


208. 

12.2 



17.1 

Would help to cement. 


* Denotes recommendations. (See table 10) 
No cut needed on ffagres. 

Estimations by Lawrence Mvers. 


Fig. 29. Sample lease sheet showing gage averages. 





















































































WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


127 


Job, but not a casing job. Both of these wells, as shown by the ratio, 
need remedial work, but under the conditions the money spent would 
probably never bring a return. 

Some difficulty was experienced in keeping the gage sheets clean in 
the course of work with oily fillings, gage cans, etc. lo overcome this, 
the gage board with sliding cover shown in figure ilO was made and gave 
satisfaction. 



Fig. 30. Photograph of the gage board devised for protection of the 

records while in use on the lease. 


xA-fter the gage-averages had been transferred to the lease-total 
sheets they were summed up, and the total muuljer of liarrels of oil a 
day checked against the pipe-line runs for the lease. On the later im- 
,)roved gages, these pipe-line runs checked closely with the sum of the 
individual well gages. On the earlier runs the totals ran high, due to in¬ 
clusion of more or less water with the oil, as gaged in the barrels. 
percentage correction was made on all the well productions as gaged, 
cutting them down .so that the totals of the gaged production etpialed or 
exceeded the lease runs hy only a slight margin. 

On some of the leases it was impossible to try to check the gages 
against the runs because at no time were they immped steadily enough to 
keep the water off the sand. On others the wells wese ptimiied irregu¬ 
larly, and a cut of gages to meet the runs woukl have taken them be- 

neath their true i)ossi1)ilities. 











128 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


Ratio 

In the last column of the lease sheet was placed the ratio of the 
water to the oil, that is, the niiinlier of barrels of water divided by the 
number of barrels of oil pumped by that particular well. Thus, if a 
well pumps 100 barrels of water and 1 barrel of oil, the ratio would be 
100, while if it pumped three barrels of oil, the ratio would be 33^3. 
From these hgures was determined which wells were giving good results 
and which were not. I'he work was concentrated upon wells with ratios 
30 or above. Doubtless there were wells making less than 30 times as 
much water as oil that would have been improved by corrective work, 
but, on the other hand, those making over 30 were the worst offenders, 
and it was of these therefore that especial studies were undertaken. In 
most cases those pumping less than 30 times as much water as oil can be 
easily handled by average power, but with a ratio over 30, they are apt 
to break off and fall behind. 

These wells with ratios over 30 were carefully gaged again, and the 
graphic logs reexamined, except in those cases where the wells jiound 
down or juimp off* and it is known that they are producing at full ca¬ 
pacity. Recommendations were then made, on the basis of the gages 
and logs, in cooperation with the officials of the respective companies. 

RECOMMENDATIONS EOR REPAIR WORK ON WELLS 

In view of the fact that most of the wells gaged were jiroducing 
water in large quantities, it is desirable to give primary consideration 
to those wells that seemed to be most severely handicapped by the water. 
As stated, it was arbitrarily determined to give preferential considera¬ 
tion to those wells making as much as, or more than, 30 barrels of water 
to each barrel of oil produced, unless owing to other determining cir¬ 
cumstances, such as the physical condition of the well and previous work 
done on it, it appeared not wise to adhere to this ratio. 

The map, of which Plate XII is a copy, was drawn and blue prints 
of it were distributed among the officers of the various comjianies con¬ 
cerned. With these data in hand, conferences were held with foremen 
and superintendents in charge of the properties, as to the most ])ractic- 
able methods of reducing the amount of water produced by the various 
wells. Each well was, of course, considered individually, taking into 
account such circumstances as past history. In short, all data pertain¬ 
ing to or tending to indicate the condition and characteristics of each 
individual well were obtained and discussed at these conferences, as a 
result of which, recommendations for repairing wells were made in writ¬ 
ing to the various companies. A summar*}^ of these wells and of the 
recommendations is shown in Table 10. 


ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL 


SURVEY 



bulletin no. 40, PLATE XI 



Map showing the structure on the surface of the Plat Rock sand in a portion of the Flat Rock pool 







































































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WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


129 


GAGING AFTER REPAIRS 

After repair work had been completed upon the several wells, a 
series of gage readings was taken to show the extent of improvement 
made and the tendency of the well to revert to its original condition. 
As long as the investigating party was in the field, these readings were 
taken at regular intervals. Small at first, the time interval between 
measurements was gradually lengthened as the amount of change grew 
less and less On Tohill No. 4, for example, the gage on the second 
day was 35 barrels and five days later it had dropped to less than half 
of that. After that the decline was much more gradual. On the Ewing 
No. 8, Selby and Cisler, the gage started at 65 and dropped rapidly 
to 35 and then gradually to 30 barrels. 

While the Survey party was gaging the wells, the “three-barrel si¬ 
phon” setup was used. Later after the party left the Elat Rock district, 
when the oil companies did the gaging themselves, as a check upon the 
gages of the Survey, they ran the entire production of the wells into a 
250-barrel stock tank, drained, steamed, and gaged, and obtained almost 
identical figures. This method of gaging was lengthy, more cumbersome, 
and of course could not be used daily without tying up the whole lease 
as well as the time of the pum])er. The results should be just as accurate 
with the barrel gage as the stock tank gage, for on the one hand the chance 
is that there will be a little water measured as oil, while on the other, gag¬ 
ing a five-barrel run in a 250 tank is not conducive to accuracy beyond 
the closest barrel. The only thing in favor of the complete daily gage is 
that while the error in the siphon barrel gage is collective and grows 
larger and larger, the gage in the tank is compensating, being first over 
and then under the true production. 

A summary of the results of the corrective work has already been 

given as Table 8. 

LOSS OF PRODUCTION INCIDENT TO DELAY IN REPAIRS 

ON WELLS 

Considerable production is often lost by delaying the repairs on a 
well after trouble has been observed. In one such well in the Illinois 
fields it is estimated that $1,500 worth of oil was lost in two and a half 
months bv delaying repair work. While some of this oil might be le- 
gained when the well was finally repaired, much of it would not be 
recovered, and it is obvious that if such a method of lu-ocedure be 
generally followed on a lease, one can not hope for a fair recovery of 
oil from the properties. 


Tahle 10, —Summary of Recommendations for Repairs to Wells 


130 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


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'• No work was recommended to be executed on the wells of James Pease and Company since operations had been too irregular due 
to the shortage of gas for operating power. 












































WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


131 


TESTING TO DETERMINE SOURCE OF INCOMING WATER 

Use of X'enetian Red as an Indicator 

Well No. 7 of the Selby and Cisler Company, on the W. E. Ewing 
lease, had a packer set on tubing in the lower portion of the GCJ-inch 
string. This string had been corroded sufficiently to let in the upper 
water. In order to get evidence as to whether the water in the well was 
from the bottom or was leaking around the packer, water was run into 
the casinghead, and \Tnetian red (chiefly red oxide of iron) was poured 
into this connection along with the water. A watch was kept on the 
production to determine if any of the indicator got past the i)acker. The 
finely divided Ventian red being carried in sus])ension and not in solution 
would not be suitable for use as an indicator when the fluid had to pass 
through a sand or other filtering medium. As used for testing, the efifec- 
tiveness of a packer when the water is entering the well in large volumes, 
or tests of a similar nature, Venetian red was considered satisfactory as a 
substitute for aniline dye, which was formerly im])orted and only to be ob¬ 
tained at a prohibitive price at the time of the test. In the case of this 
particular well, the dye was not pumped out. While such negative evi¬ 
dence even in this type of a case is not conclusive, it is a strong indication 
that the packer was holding. 

Use of Packers as a Testing Device 

Though packers are not recommended as a suitable device for per¬ 
manently excluding water from an oil or gas well, they are often useful 
as a temporary expedient, and as a testing device for determining the 
source of the water entering the well. By setting the packer in the bottom 
joint of the casing with the pump above and with a perforated ni])ple be¬ 
tween the packer and pump, a quicker and more positive test of the con¬ 
dition of the casing may be obtained. Of course, for such a method the 
bottom of the tubing must be plugged. When the casing seat is to be 
tested, a similar arrangement of perforated nipple, pump, and plug may 
be used, only the packer must be set below the bottom of the casing. 
By this method the test is made by pumping out the fluid from above the 
packer instead of from the sands. 

METHODS OF WATER CONTROL 
Use of Mud Fluid 

The use of mud fluid for controlling high-pressure gas wells and 
as a protection against the ill eftects of unsystematic casing in nearby 
wells has been thoroughly discussed by Lewis and McAIurray.^ In the 

1 DewisTj. L., and McMiirray, W. F., The use of mud-laden fluid in oil and 
gas wells: U. S. Bureau of IMines Bull. 134, 1916. 




132 


OIL invp:stigations 


State of Illinois it is proposed to use mud fluid for two purposes—to 
arrest the corrosion of casing by water cased off back of it, and to avoid 




A 





■ 923*' 



'.•'.•XyjUpper Bridgeport Sand 

wJShutoff - 





Fig. 31. Diagram to show the saving in casing accomplished by the use of 

mud fluid. 


the detrimental eft'ects of unsystematic casing. The chemical and geo¬ 
logical aspects of corrosion have been described on a previous page. It 
remains now to consider the mechanical phases of the problem. 


























































































































WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


133 


the mud 

To be most effective Ae mud fluid must consist of colloidal material, 
ree from grit, sand, or lime cuttings. Such granular material tends to 
settle around the outside of the casing and to bridge or pack over the col¬ 
lars, not only interrupting the continuity of the column of mud fluid, but 



Fig. 32. Photograph showing the connection at the top 
of the well between the discharge of the mud 
pump and the casing in the circulation method. 

The outcoming mud fluid has been down 
through the casing, out its bottom, and is 
returning to the surface, outside the casing. 

possibly freezing the casing. If air is excluded from such a mud fluid, it 
will remain fluid indefinitely and with comparatively small amount of set¬ 
tling. The thicker the original mud fluid is used the less will he the sub- 
secjuent settling. As general rule it is advisable to mix the mud as thick 
as the pumps will handle it. 




134 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


METHODS OF MUDDING WELLS 

Since the niudding ])rocedure is identical whether the purpose is 
to obviate the necessity of three shut-offs, or to arrest corrosion, this 
discussion of methods if applicable to either case. There are, in gen¬ 
eral, three methods for mudding: 

1. Jet the hole full of mud; insert and land the casing. 

2. Run casing into the hole and hang the pipe a few feet off the 
bottom. Jet the pipe full of mud until the column equalizes inside and 
outside of the casing at the surface; then set the casing. 

3. Run casing into the hole and pump it full of mud. Make a 
closed connection between the discharge of the mud pump and the top 
of the casing, and continue pumping until the mud fluid descending in¬ 
side the casing and returning to the surface in the space between the 
casing and the wall of the hole is free from cavings, sand, or lime cut¬ 
tings, and is of the same speciflc gravity as the ingoing fluid. (See 
figure 32.) Then land the casing. 

Wdiichever method is adopted, the mud fluid should not be bailed 
out of the pipe for at least 24 hours after completion of the job. 

A ditch or flume some 50 to 100 feet long should be arranged and 
the mud fluid run through it to afford apportunity for all coarse material 
to settle out (figs. 33-35.) It should terminate in a suction pit so placed 
that the suction line of the pump may be easily transferred from the 
sump to the suction pit when mudding operations are commenced. In 
the circulation process of mudding, when the mud returns to the sur¬ 
face outside the casing, it may frequently contain cuttings and cavings 
washed up from the hole; and therefore before it has returned to the 
suction pit it should be allowed to flow through the trench so that such 
coarse material may settle out. This ditch must be shoveled out at 
intervals. 

Frequently enough clean mud fluid for the job will be collected at 
the lower end of the mud sump. The necessary specific gravity may be 
obtained by providing an overflow so that the excess water which rises 
to the surface of the sump will run off. If sufficient clean mud is not 
collected in this way at the lower end of the sump, an additional supply 
may be obtained by drawing the clean mud fluid from the lower part of 
the sump and forcing it through a flexible discharge pipe into the 
coarser settlings at the upi)er end of the sum]) with which it is mixed. 
Thus the high-pressure stream of mud may be used as a hydraulic moni¬ 
tor, and, l)y circulating the mud fluid through the pump and ditch, all 
colloidal matter availal)le is brought into suspension. 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


135 


SUGGESTIONS WITH REGARD TO CASING 

As none but good casing should be mudded, it will stand having 
the joints well set up. The threads inside the coupling and on the ends 
of the casing joints should be thoroughly cleaned and threaded with lead 
and oil or some other suitable preparation before the joints are started. 



Fig. 33. Diagram showing the system used in collecting mud for mudding Selby- 

Cisler well, Ewing No. 6B. 


Whenever suitable tongs are available, the casing should be set up with 
the engine. By taking these precautions the strings will hang together 
and stand more severe stress in case jacks have to be used to free it dur¬ 
ing any future operation. 

Wdien mudding casing by pump and circulation methods as de¬ 
scribed, it should be raised and lowered at intervals without interrupting 
the action of the ])ump. This vertical movement of the casing should 
not be less than 22 feet so that each coupling will pass the position form¬ 
erly occupied by the next above. This process tends to prevent ac¬ 
cumulation of debris on the wall of the hole which might cause the pipe 
to become collar-bound and to stick or '‘freeze.” 

While very little trouble has been experienced in other states in 
pulling casing which has been set with mud fluid, nothing but ex¬ 
perience can demonstrate whether or not such mudding operations will 
be as fortunate in this respect in Illinois. Nevertheless if experience 
should show that it is impossible to recover mudded strings of casing 
after prolonged standing, the operator will have been reimbursed many 





















136 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


times for this loss of pipe, providing the mudding excludes upper water 
from the productive sands throughout the life of the well. It is on this 
argument that the use of mud is recommended in Illinois at the present 
time. 

Another precaution to be observed, especially in “spotty” territory, 
is to set the water string, drill into the pay sand, and if necessary to 
shoot the well before mudding. If then the well is to be abandoned, it 
is obviously unnecessary to mud the water string, but the mud saved for 
this purpose while drilling can be used to good advantage in properly 
plugging the hole. On the other hand, if the well shows up favorably 
when drilled into the sands, it is a simple matter to bridge the hole above 
the sands and lift the pipe, mud, and reseat the casing. 

APPLICATION TO REPAIR PROBLEMS 
CORROSION OF CASING AND METHODS OF PREVENTION 

There are areas in the Illinois pools where the rapid corrosion of 
casing necessitates frequent renewals. In some instances casing and well 
tubing must be replaced after two years’ service. These replacement jobs 
are not only costly in themselves, but the financial loss is considerably 
augmented by the incidental loss of production both while the well is off 
and by the diminished output of the well when returned to the producing 
status, an occurrence which frequently accompanies such water jobs. 
While this reduction in productivity is not universal, it is a very general 
characteristic of such troubles in other fields as well as those of Illinois. 
It has been observed that when water breaks into an oil or gas well, per¬ 
manent damage is frequently occasioned, and that the well will frequently 
not come back to its former productivity even after the water has been 
shut off*. 

To prevent the corrosion of casing, two methods of procedure are 
open ; first, to use casing of such composition that it will not be corroded, 
and, second, to keep the corrosive agent from contact with the casing. 

Numerous efforts have been made by pipe manufacturers to supply 
non-corrosive casing, which have been but partly successful. As a rule 
such special casing is more costly than ordinary pipe. 

To keep the corrosive agent from contact with the pipe is the method 
of greatest promise at present. One way to achieve this is by filling 
the space between the casing and the wall of the hole with mud fluid and 
to set the casing so as to retain the mud in this annular space throughout 
the life of the well. This method, of course, did not originate with the 
present investigation, but merely constitutes the application of a well- 
known principle to a particular set of conditions. The method has been 
used successfully in many fields and depends for its success on two 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


137 


properties of mud fluid—first, the clogging action of the fluid as it 
enters the interstices of a sand, which tends to convert the porous sand 
locally into an impervious sandy clay, and second, the static pressure 
exerted by the column of mud fluid, which will continually oppose the 
pi essure tending to force water through the sand into the well and into 
contact with the casing. Suppose, for the sake of illustration, that a 
water sand penetrated at a depth of 1,000 feet is cased and mudded 
ofif by such a process as that subsequently to be described, and suppose 
that the specific gravity of the mud is 1.25, that is to say, 25 per cent 
heavier than pure water. Suppose also that the water has sufficient 
head to rise GOO feet in the hole, or within 400 feet of the surface. This 
head of water is equivalent to 260 pounds pressure jier square inch. 
In opposition to this ])ressure of water tending to enter the hole is the 



Fig. 34. Photograph of the mud sump taken from the top of the derrick 

on S-elby-Cisler well, Ewing No. 6B. 

pressure exerted by 1,000 feet of mud fluid, which exerts a counter¬ 
pressure of 541 pounds per square inch. Thus the pressure exerted by 
the mud tending to hold the water back is 281 pounds greater per square 
inch than the pressure of the water in the sand. 

The result is that some mud enters the sand, as stated, until sufficient 
resistance has been built up to balance the extra jiressure of the column 
of mud and a state of equilibrium is obtained. Hy such a mud system, 
various fluids native to strata cased oft* are retained in their normal re- 




138 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


spective stratigraphic positions and arc thus ])revente(l from migrating 
up and down tlie hole to contaminate fluids of other strata. Also, if any 
of these fluids are directly or indirectly responsible for the corrosion of 
the casing, such corrosion is very likely to cease. 

One of the most striking facts in connection with the corrosion of 
casing in the Illinois fields is that the bottom joints of a water string 
rarely show corrosion when the casing is pulled. So general is this cir¬ 
cumstance that of the many oil men interviewed on the subject, not one 
had failed to observe it, and all attributed the fact to the protection af¬ 
forded by shale cavings from the hole which settled about this portion 
of the pipe. The use of mud fluid may therefore be considered as ex¬ 
tending similar protection throughout the full length of the string. 

INTERMKDIATK WATER AND ITS CONTROL 

In many oil fields there are areas where intermediate water is en¬ 
countered. By this term is meant a water-bearing stratum with pro¬ 
ductive oil or gas strata above and below it, and with “breaks” of im¬ 
pervious strata separating the several sands. When it becomes desir¬ 
able to produce from the lower productive stratum a competent opera¬ 
tor at once adopts means to protect the upper productive stratum from 
becoming flooded by the intermediate water, as would be the case if 
both the intermediate water and upper oil were cased off behind the same 
string of pipe. 

One method of doing this is the three shut-off* system consisting 
of three strings of casing; one set above the U])per productive strata 
and another below it, thus protecting it from upper and intermediate 
waters, while the third string is set above the second producing sand. 

This method is open to the following objections: It is costly, due 
to the extra strings of casing used, as well as the labor involved. It 
offers only temporary protection in contact with corrosive agents. If the 
first or second shut-offs fail before the third, the water will then spread 
in the upper productive sand and perhaps spoil adjacent wells produc¬ 
ing from it. Since under conditions of three shut-offs production from 
the lower sand in the offending well may not be diminished by the 
spread of water in the upper sand, the true source of the water may not 
be determined. Moreover, if the well at fault is making a good produc¬ 
tion from the lower pay an ojierator would be reluctant to pull the casing 
from such a well on a chance that the first or second shut-off's were at 
fault. Being only human, he might prefer to claim the benefit of the 
doubt rather than to risk spoiling a good well because of a suspicion 
that it might be causing damage to the upper sand. It is therefore of 
prime im])ortance that first and second shut-off's, and for that matter, 


WATER CONTROL, FLAT ROCK POOL 


139 


every shut-oft in drilling wells, should be made as nearly permanent 
as possible, having due regard for all factors and complications likely to 
arise in the future, as far as past experience may indicate them. 

It has been recommended to some of the companies operating where 
intermediate water is encountered, that one string of casing be thor- 
oughly mudded and landed above the lower pay; and the other strings 
that might be necessary while drilling should be pulled, keeping fluid 
level of the mud outside the water string as near the surface as pos¬ 
sible at all times. Of course, in some cases, it will be advisable, for me¬ 
chanical reasons, to leave some conductor pii)e in the hole in addition 
to the one string that is mudded. Such conditions are shown in figure 
31, an Indian Refining Company well in the Petrolia district. To the 
left the well is shown as it would normally be cased, and to the right as 



Fig. 35. Photograph of the mud sump looking toward the derrick. Trench 
near the center in which coarse material settles out, suction and 
mixing pipes at the right, the former below the latter. 


it would be if mud fluid were used. The saving here is in the cost of 
the strings of pipe. Due to the pressure tending to collapse a string of 
pipe, which is exerted by a column of heavy mud fluid, old or very thin 
casing should not be used in mudding oj^eiations. 

Use of Ce:ment 

Use of cement in oils wells is confined to repair work in so far as 
water control is concerned. 









140 


OIL INVESTIGATIONS 


The method of cementing off lower water as used extensively in 
the Illinois field, was first introduced by W. W. McDonald of the Ohio 
Oil Company. It is adapted to completed wells which have been drilled 
too deep, or in which the shot has introduced salt water, as well as to 
those which have been partially flooded as a result of the inevitable en¬ 
croachment of the water upon the field, due to extraction of the oil. 

MCDONALD METHOD OF CEMENTING BOTTOM WATER 

A String of two-inch tubing, plugged tightly with a wooden plug, 
is lowered to within a foot or so of the prospective top of the cement. 
Fresh water is run into the tubing until it is filled, and the bottom plug 
is knocked out with sucker rods or by striking the upper end of the 
water column. Fresh water is then allowed to run into the well for sev¬ 
eral hours to force any salt water back into the sands. Cement is in¬ 
troduced by the handful into the stream of water, preferably heated to 
130°, until the amount desired has been put in. The water flow is con¬ 
tinued but in a smaller stream, merely enough to keep the circulation^ 
from the well outward, so as to hold the cement grains in the inter-, 
stices of the sand, rather than from the salt reservoir toward the well,' 
which would force the cement back into the well. The water floWj 
should be kept up for six or eight hours. With ordinary cement thef 
well should not be pumped sooner than the eighth day. 

There is a great difference in cements, and the cement used should 
be tested in a great excess of water before putting it in the well, to de¬ 
termine whether or not it can be depended on to sCt under such condi-^ 
tions. 


INDEX 


A 


Acknowledgments .22,52,104 


Adams County, geology and 

structure of. 69-90 

physiography of. 71-72 

stratigraphy of. 86-96 

Agaricocrinus tiiherosus, oc¬ 
currence of in Keokuk 

limestone . 94 

Alluvial deposits in Brown 

County . 25 

in Pike and Adams counties 86 

Analyses of oil-well waters. ... 114-117 

of Pike County gas. 83 

Archimedes, occurrence of in 

Warsaw formation. 94 

Artesian wells. 86 

Ava, drilling near. 16-17 


B 


Benville, Keokuk formation 

near . 37 

Bond County, drilling in.... 17 

Brown County, physiography of 24 

recommendations for drilling 

in . 49-50 

stratigraphy of. 25-40 

structure of . 41-46 

Burlington limestone in Brown 

County . 38 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53-59 

in Pike and Adams counties 94 

Bushnell, dome near. 65 

log of well at. 56-57 


^1- X ^ page 

Clinton County, drilling in.... 15 

Coal City, seepage of oil and 

gas near . 47 

Coghill, John W. Jr., assistance 

of . 52 

Colchester coal, see .Yo. 2 coal '. 

Coles County, drilling in. 12-13 

Colmar-Plymouth fields, drill¬ 
ing in . 45 

Corrosion of casing, prevention 

of .137—138 

Corrosive waters in Flat Rock 

^ 111-113 

Crawford County, drilling in.. 14 
Cumberland County, drilling in 12 , 18 

D 

Devonian rocks in Brown 


County . 38-39 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

qumlrangles . 53-59 

in Pike and Adams counties 95 
Douglas County, drilling in.... I 8 
Drilling, record of. 18-20 


E 

Echinoconchus alternatiis, oc¬ 
currence of in Keokuk 

limestone . 94 

Edgar County, drilling in. 12 

Edwards County, drilling in.. 17 

Endotiiyra baileyi, occurrence 

of in Salem limestone.... 38 

Ewing well No. 6 , log of.108-109 


C 


F 


Calhoun County, Kimmswick- 


Plattin limestone in. 96 

Campbell Hill anticline, drill¬ 
ing on . 16-17 

Carbondale formation in Brown 

County . 28-29 

in Flat Rock Pool. 110 

. in Pike and Adams counties 89-91 

Casing, corrosion of. 105 

saving of by use of mud fluid 132 
Central Refining Company, as¬ 
sistance of . 104 

Chestline, section near. 91 

Clark County, drilling in. 12-13 


Pair Weather, section near.... 91 

Payette County, drilling in.... 17 

“First lime” . 38 

Flat Rock Pool, geology of... .106-113 

peg model of.118-119,121 

water trouble in. 106 

Flat Rock sand .112-113 

P''ossils, occurrence of in Keo¬ 
kuk limestone . 37,94 

in St. Louis limestone. 31 

in Salem limestone. 33,93 

in Warsaw formation. 94 

Friendsville Township, drilling 

in . 14 


141 

















































142 


INDEX—Continued 


Gaging of wells in Flat Rock 

Pool .121-129 

Galena-Platteville limestone, in 
Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53-59 

possibility of oil production 

from . 61 

Gallatin County, drilling in.. 16 

Gas in glacial drift. 66-67 

in Pike County. 75-84 

“Gas sand”, 600-foot, in Flat 

Rock Pool.110,111 

Glacial drift, gas in. 66-67 

in Brown County. 26-27 

in Flat Rock Pool. 107 

in Pike and Adams counties 87 

Gochenour well, log of. 58-59 

Goodhope Quadrangle, stra¬ 
tigraphy of . 53-59 

structure and oil possibili¬ 
ties of .. 51-67 

H 

Hancock County, drilling in.. 16 

Hazelwood, section near. 93 

lining sand . 73-74 

correlation of . 39, 40 

possibility of oil production 

from . 60-61 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53-59 


I 

Illinoian till, distribution of 

.26-27, 87, 107 


Illinois, rank of in oil produc¬ 
tion . 9-10 

structure of . 63 

Illinois oil, prices of. 11 

Illinois Pipe Line Company, as¬ 
sistance of. 104 

Indian Refining Company, as¬ 
sistance of . 104 


J 


Jackson County, drilling in... 16-17 

J. and L. Parke well, log of.. 47 
Jasper County, drilling in.... 12 

Johnson County, drilling in... 16 

Johnson well, log of. 47 

K 

Keokuk formation in Brown 

County . 37-38 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53 

in Pike and Adams counties. 94 


PAGE 

Key horizons for Brown County 23-24 
for Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 64 

for Pike and Adams counties 72-73 
Kimmswick-Plattin limestone in 

Brown County. 39-40 

in Pike and Adams counties 96 
Kinderhook shale in Brown 

County . 38 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53-59 

in Pike and Adams counties 95 

L 

La Grange, section near. 30 

La Harpe Quadrangle, stratig¬ 
raphy of . 53-59 

structure and, oil possibili¬ 
ties of _'. 51-57 

Lawrence County, drilling in.. 14 
Lioclema, occurrence of in War¬ 
saw formation . 94 

Lithostrotion, occurrence of in 

St. Louis limestone. 31 

Loess deposits in Brown County 25-26 

in Flat Rock Pool. 107 

in Pike and Adams counties 86-87 


M 


McDonald method of cement¬ 
ing oil wells. 140 

McDonough County, drilling in 16 
McLean County, drilling in.... 17 

McLeansboro formation in Flat 

Rock Pool . 110 

Macoupin County, drilling in.. 15 
Madden, Prank J., assistance of 104 
Madison County, drilling in... 17,18 

Maquoketa shale in Brown 

County . 39 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53-59 

in Pike and Adams counties 95 
possibility of oil production 

from . 41, 61 

Marion County, drilling in.... 15-16 

May wells, logs of. 43 

Mink, Jerry, assistance of.. .. 71 

“Mississippi lime” . 33 

Mississippian rocks in Good- 
hope and La Harpe quad- 

I’angles . 53.59 

in Pike and Adams counties 92-95 
Morgan County, drilling in.... 17 

Morse, W. C., work of. 22 

INIount Sterling, Pottsville for¬ 
mation near . 30, 31 

St. Peter sandstone in well at ' 40 
IVIudding, methods of.134-135 


Mud fiuid, use of in water con¬ 
trol .132-138 


















































INDEX—Continued 


PAGK 

N 

Natural gas, see Gas. 

Nebel, M. L., work of. 71 ^ IO 4 

Niagara!! limestone, gas from 83-84 

m Brown County. 39 

in Goodliope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53-59 

in Pike and Adams counties 95 
possibility of oil production 
fi om . 0 Q 

Northern Illinois, drilling in.. 17 

No. 2 coal as key horizon in 

Brown County . 23-24 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 03 

in Pike and Adams counties 72-73 

O 

Oakland, drilling near. I 3 

Oil, character of in Flat Rock 
Pool . 

Oil-producing horizons ...40-41, 59-61 

Ordovician rocks in Brown 

County . 39_40 

m Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53 , 61 

in Pike and Adams counties. 95-96 


P 

Packers, use of as indicator of 


source of water. 131 

Parke well, log of. 47 

Parrish well, log of. 57-58 

Pennsylvanian rocks in Brown 

County . 28-31 

in Flat Rock Pool.107-113 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 52 

in Pike and Adams counties 89-92 

Perry County, drilling in. 17 

Petroleum, prices of in 1916, 

1917, and 1918 . 10-11 

number of wells drilled for 

in 1917 and 1918.12,18-20 

production of, 1905 to 1918.. 10 

1917 and 1918. 9-20 

production of decreasing in 

Illinois . 99 

Pike County, drilling in.16,76-80 

geology and structure of.... 69-96 

natural gas in. 75-84 

physiography of . 71-72 

stratigraphy of . 86-96 

Pittsfield-Hadley anticline .... 75-84 

Plymouth field, drilling in. 16 

Plymouth oil, prices of. 11 

Pottsville formation in Brown 

County . 30-31 

in Pike and Adams counties 91 

in Flat Rock Pool. 110 

l)ossibility of oil production 

from . 59 


143 


Productidae. occurrence of in 

Carbondale formation. 90 

Pi oductus hurlingtonensis oc¬ 
currence of in Burlington 

limestone . 9 ^ 

Product us uiagnus, occurrence 

of in Keokuk limestone... 94 


R 

Randolph County, drilling in.. 17 
Recommendations for oil tests 

„.49-50, 65, 84-86 

tor repair work. 428 

Repair worK, use of cement in. 139-140 

use of mud fluid in.137-139 

losses resulting from delay of 
recommendations for in Flat 

Rock Pool . 

Rich, J. L., work of. 

Ripley dome . 

Robinson sand in the Flat 

Rock Pool . 

Roseville, dome near. 


129 

128 
22, 23 
46 

110 

65 


S 


St. Louis limestone in Brown 

County . 3i_32 

in Pike and Adams counties 92-93 
St. Peter sandstone in Brown 

County . 40 

Salem limestone, fossils in.... 33 

occurrence of in Brown 

County .24,32-35 

in Pike and Adams counties 93 

Saline County, drilling in. 16 

“Salt sand, 600-foot’’, see “Fp- 
pe?’ salt sand". 

Savage, T. E., work of..22, 33, 52, 83 
Schuyler County, drilling in.. 16 

“Second lime’’ . 39 ,73 

Section of hard rocks in Brown 

County . 27-28 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 52-53 

in Pike and Adams counties 87-89 
of Pennsylvanian rocks in 

Plat Rock Pool. 108 

Selby and Cisler Refining Com¬ 
pany, assistance of. 104 

Shinn, Claude, assistance of... 71 

Single-barrel gage, description 

of . 121 

South central Illinois, drilling 

in .15-16 

Southeastern Illinois, drilling 

in . 12-14 

Southern Illinois, drilling in.. 16-17 
Spanish Needle Creek Dome, 

drilling on . 15 























































144 


INDEX—Concluded 


PAGK 

iipil'ifera, occurrence of in Keo¬ 
kuk limestone . 94 

8poran(jites liuronense, occur¬ 
rence of in Devonian shale 38 

Staunton gas pool, decline of. 15 

Stratigraphy of Pike and Ad¬ 
ams counties . 86-96 

Stronghurst, dome near. 64 

log of well at. 55 

Structure of Brown County- 41-46 

of Flat Rock sand. 113 

of “gas sand” in Flat Rock 

Pool . Ill 

of Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 63-66 

of Pike and Adams counties. 

...74, 75,81-86 

Structure, relation of to oil 

accumulation .43-44, 62,73 

Sweetland Creek shale in Good- 
hope and La Harpe quad¬ 
rangles . 53-59 


T 

Tests for oil. Brown County.. 46-48 
Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 66 

Three-barrel siphon gage, de¬ 
scription of .121-124 

“Trenton limestone”, see Ga- 
lena-Platteville limestone 
and Kimmswick-P I a 11 in 
limestone. 


Upper Devonian shale in Brown 

County . 38 

in Goodhope and La Harpe 

quadrangles . 53-59 

in Pike and Adams counties. 95 

“Upper salt sand’’ in Flat Rock 

Pool .111-112 


V 

Venetian red, use of as indi¬ 
cator of source of water.. 131 


W 

Wabash County, drilling in. . . . 14 

Warsaw formation in Brown 

County . 36-37 

in Pike and Adams counties 93-^4 
Washington County, drilling in 17, 18 
Water, amounts pumped in Flat 

Rock Pool .128-129,130 

ill effects of on oil wells... .104-106 
Water control work, results of. 101-104 
Water Survey, cooperation with 104 
Well data for Pike County gas 


field .83-84, 76-80 

W^eller, Stuart, work of.22, 38, 71 

Wells, flowing . 86 


Western Illinois, drilling in... 16 






















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